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FOURSCORE  and  seven  years  ago  our 
fathers  brought  forth  on  this  continent 
a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal  ....  It  is  for  us,  the  living, 
....  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished 
work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus 
far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to 
be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remain- 
ing before  us — that  from  these  honored  dead 
we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for 
which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that 
this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new 
birth  of  freedom;  and  that  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 

— Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address,  delivered 
on  the  battlefield  of  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
November  19,  1863. 


COMMUNITY    CIVICS 
FOR  CITY  SCHOOLS 


BY 


ARTHUR  W.  DUNN 

AUTHOR  OF  "the  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  CITIZEN' 
AND  "community  CIVICS  AND  RURAL  LIFe" 


D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1921, 
By  D.  C.   Heath  &  Co. 

2'  1 


CO 

CO 


7-  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

Lei  youth  help  shape  the  luorld  while  the  vision  splendid  is  still 
before  its  eyes. — Jerome  K.  Jerome. 

^r^      A  year  ago  the  author  pubhshed  his  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life, 
in  the  Introduction  to  which  it  was  stated  that: 

"Training  for  citizenship  in  a  democracy  is  a  fundamentally  identical 
process  in  all  communities,  whether  urban  or  rural.  But  if  it  really  functions 
in  the  life  of  the  citizen,  this  process  must  consist  largely  in  deriving  educa- 
tional values  from  the  actual  civic  situations  in  which  he  normally  finds  him- 
self. Moreover,  instruction  that  relates  to  matters  that  lie  beyond  immediate 
experience  must  nevertheless  be  interpreted  in  terms  of  that  experience  if  it 
is  really  to  have  meaning.  At  least  half  of  the  young  citizens  of  America  live 
in  an  environment  that  is  essentially  rural.    Hence  their  need  for  civics  in- 
^3  struction  that  takes  its  point  of  departure  in,  and  refers  back  to,  a  body  of 
^  experience  that  differs  in  many  ways  from  that  of  the  urban  citizen." 
"^      The  present  book  is  fundamentally  the  same  book  as  Community  Civics 
.  and  Rural  Life;  but,  being  prepared  for  the  use  of  pupils  whose  experience  is 
^  urban,  it  presents,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  stated  in  the  foregoing 
^  paragraph,  certain  essential  diiiferences. 

The  controlling  ideas  around  which  all  the  subject  matter  of  both  books  is 
organized  are: 

1.  The  common  purposes  in  our  community  Ufe; 

2.  Our  interdependence  in  attaining  these  common  purposes; 

3.  The  consequent  necessity  for  cooperation;  and, 

4.  Government  as  an  agency  by  which  to  secure  cooperation  in  attaining 
common  ends. 

Team  work  through  government  for  the  achievement  of  common  purposes  may 
be  said  to  be  the  motif  that  runs  prominently  through  the  entire  text. 

A  few  of  the  chapters  in  the  present  book  stand  practically  as  written  for 
the  rural  book,  with  only  slight  revision:  as,  for  example,  the  opening  chapter, 
the  chapters  on  "Our  National  Community"  and  "A  World  Community" 
(VII  and  VIII),  and  the  concluding  chapters  on  governmental  organization 
(except  for  the  addition  of  a  chapter  on  "Our  City  Government").  Atten- 
tion \nay  be  called,  however,  to  important  changes  that  distinguish  the 
present  book: 


258244 


iv  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

1.  Throughout  the  book,  where  more  or  less  abstract  ideas  are  concretely 
illustrated,  as  in  the  case  of  "interdependence"  (Chapter  II)  and  "coopera- 
tion" (Chapter  III),  the  major  part  of  the  illustrative  material  taken  from 
rural  life  has  been  supplanted  by  similar  material  more  familiar  to  the  city 
boy  or  girl. 

2.  All  of  the  chapters  dealing  expressly  with  the  problems  of  community 
life  (comprising  the  main  body  of  the  book),  such  as  the  home  (Chapter  IX), 
education  (Chapter  X),  health  (Chapter  XI),  the  protection  of  property 
(Chapter  XIII),  and  others,  have  been  largely  or  entirely  rewritten;  for  these 
problems  present  to  the  city  community  aspects  entirely  different  from  those 
presented  to  the  rural  community. 

3.  New  chapters  have  been  added:  one  on  "Team  Work  in  Industry," 
one  on  "How  Government  Serves  Our  Economic  Interests,"  and  one  on 
"Our  City  Government."  A  chapter  on  "Property  Rights"  has  been  sep- 
arated from  the  original  chapter  on  "The  Protection  of  Property." 

4.  Added  emphasis  has  been  given  to  the  economic  and  industrial  rela- 
tions of  community  life;  or,  more  accurately  speaking,  to  the  civic  relations 
of  industry.  Chapters  XVI-XXI,  embracing  119  pages,  deal  directly  with 
this  phase  of  the  subject,  while  Chapters  XIII,  XV,  XXII,  and  XXIII  are 
related  to  it. 

5.  The  sequence  of  chapters  followed  in  the  rural  book  has  been  changed 
in  certain  particulars  in  the  present  book.  The  sequence  in  which  topics  are 
taken  up  for  study  by  a  class  should  be  determined  by  various  circumstances, 
and  should  not  be  rigidly  fixed  by  the  text  book.  The  arrangement  of  the 
present  book  was  decided  upon,  however,  m  order  that  the  economic  chapters 
might  fall  together  in  the  second  half  of  the  course.  Chapter  XVI  ("Earn- 
ing a  Living")  makes  an  excellent  beginning  for  the  second  half,  though  the 
course  may  be  divided  at  an  earlier  point  when  desired  (say  with  Chapter 
XIII  or  XIV). 

It  may  be  said,  in  this  connection,  that  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  author 
that,  if  the  course  is  to  be  included  within  a  single  year,  that  year  should  be 
the  ninth — the  first  year  of  high  school  or  the  last  year  of  junior  high  school. 
If  the  course  is  to  cover  two  years,  in  accordance  with  present  tendencies,  its 
arrangement  adapts  it  either  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  or  to  the 
eighth  and  ninth. 

6.  A  great  majority  of  the  photographic  illustrations  in  the  present  book 
differ  from  those  in  the  rural  book. 

The  offering  of  two  texts,  one  for  rural  pupils  and  one  for  those  of  cities, 
by  no  means  implies  the  thought  that  rural  conditions  and  problems  should  be 
ignored  in  the  civic  education  of  urban  citizens,  or  vice  versa.  On  the  contrary, 
a  crying  need  of  the  present  is  a  keen  appreciation  on  the  part  of  all  citizens, 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  V 

urban  and  rural,  of  the  close  interdependence  of  city  and  country  in  a  unified 
national  life.  Great  stress  has  been  placed  on  this  idea  at  many  points  in 
both  books.  (See,  for  example,  Chapter  VI,  "What  Is  Our  Community?".) 
The  opportunity  to  emphasize  the  idea  will  be  greatly  increased,  however,  if 
a  class  using  one  of  the  books  regularly  as  a  text  may  have  available  for 
reference  one  or  more  copies  of  the  other.  By  this  means  a  richer  fund  of 
illustrative  material  will  be  made  available  and  a  greater  breadth  of  view 
will  be  secured,  than  would  be  possible  in  a  single  volume  of  reasonable  size. 

The  author  may  take  this  occasion  to  repeat  what  he  has  said  many  times 
before,  that  the  term  "community  civics,"  certainly  as  applied  to  his  own 
books,  derives  its  appropriateness,  not  from  any  narrow  application  to  "local 
study,"  but  from  the  interpretation  of  citizenship  and  of  government  in  their 
rdation  to  national  and  world-wide,  as  well  as  local,  community  relations  and 
Interests.  If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  emphasized  in  the  present 
book  (and  in  Comtnunity  Civics  and  Rural  Life),  it  is  our  national  community 
of  interests,  our  national  interdependence,  and  our  national  need  for  team 
work.  Our  whole  scheme  of  government — local,  state,  and  national — is 
interpreted  from  this  point  of  view. 

The  underlying,  vitalizing  features  of  "community  civics"  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows: 

1.  The  demonstration  to  the  young  citizen,  by  reference  to  his  own  observation 
and  experience,  of  the  meaning  of  his  community  life  {local  and  national),  and 
of  government  in  relation  to  that  life; 

2.  The  cultivation  of  certain  habits,  ideals,  and  attitudes  essential  to  effective 
participation  in  that  life  through  government  and  otherwise. 

The  aim  of  the  present  text  is  to  fix  in  the  pupil's  consciousness  a  few 
essential  ideas,  which  will  help  to  determine  his  ideals  and  attitudes,  by  a 
judicious  use  of  facts,  which  will  thereby  be  more  readily  understood  and 
remembered.  Whether  based  on  this  textbook  or  some  other,  however,  com- 
munity civics  cannot  be  successfully  taught  if  it  is  made  primarily  a  text- 
book study.  The  word  "demonstration "  has  been  used  above  advisedly.  The 
text  sets  up  ideas,  interprets  and  exemplifies  them;  but  "demonstration"  can 
be  made  only  as  pupils  draw  upon  their  own  observation  and  experience.  The 
author  has  done  his  best  constantly  to  direct  attention  to  the  actualities  of 
the  pupils'  experience  by  interspersing  numerous  suggestive  topics  throughout 
the  text.  These  topics  are  only  suggestive,  and  should  not  be  followed  too 
literally.  But  to  omit  such  studies  as  the  topics  suggest  is  to  negative  the 
value  of  community  civics. 

The  successful  teacher  will  seek  to  extend  the  pupil's  experience  by  enlarg- 
ing his  opportunity  to  participate  in  group  activities  both  within  the  school 
and  in  the  community  outside,  and  will  make  the  fullest  possible  use  of  such 


VI  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

activities  both  as  a  means  of  "demonstrating"  the  operation  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  civic  life,  and  as  a  means  of  cultivating  "habits,  ideals, 
and  attitudes."  "Training  for  citizenship  through  service"  is  an  essential 
factor  in  community  civics. 

It  may  be  added,  finally,  that  the  civics  instruction  m  the  grammar 
grades,  or  in  the  junior  high  school,  will  be  vastly  more  effective  if  it  is  pre- 
ceded in  the  six  elementary  grades  by  some  such  course  as  that  outlined  in 
Citizenship  In  School  and  Out  (Dunn  and  Harris,  published  by  D.  C.  Heath 
&  Company),  or  in  Lessons  in  Civics  for  the  Six  Elementary  Grades  of  City 
Schools,  by  Hannah  Margaret  Harris  (Bulletin,  1920,  No.  18,  U.S.  Bureau 
of  Education). 

Readings 

A  list  of  "Readings"  is  appended  to  each  chapter.  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  pupils  in  the  grades  for  which  the  text  is  intended  will  do  a  great  deal  of 
supplementary  reading;  but  an  abundance  of  illustrative  material  is  desirable 
and  much  more  easily  available  than  is  often  appreciated.  The  length  of  the 
list  of  "  Readings, "  in  some  chapters,  is  due  to  the  references  to  publications  of 
the  national  government,  many  of  which  can  be  obtained  free  of  cost  from 
the  departments  issuing  them,  and  all  of  which  can  be  obtained  at  nominal 
cost  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office, 
Washington,  D.C.    Let  the  pupils  use  their  government  as  freely  as  possible. 

In  ordering  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents  the  money  must  he  sent  in 
advance  {stamps  are  not  accepted).  Any  number  of -copies  of  a  given  publica- 
tion can  be  obtained  through  this  channel  if  the  price  accompanies  the  order. 
Some  of  the  federal  departments  have  a  rule  that  only  one  copy  of  a  publica- 
tion will  be  sent/rce  to  one  person.  Often  publications  can  be  obtained  free 
by  application  to  one's  congressman.  It  is  good  civic  training  to  allow  classes 
to  get  in  direct  touch  with  their  government  through  these  various  channels. 
It  is  also  good  civic  training  to  teach  pupils  to  have  regard  for  the  time  of 
public  officers  and  for  the  expenditure  of  public  funds.  Therefore,  it  is  desir- 
able in  most  cases  to  have  a  single  letter  sent  by  the  class  or  the  school  with  a 
request  for  a  single  copy  of  a  given  publication  to  go  into  the  reference  library. 
Lists  of  publications  may  be  obtained  from,  the  several  departments  of  gov- 
ernment issuing  them,  or  from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents.  In  apply- 
ing to  the  latter,  indicate  the  department,  and  if  possible  the  bureau  of  the 
department,  whose  publications  are  desired. 

Two  most  useful  publications  are  Tlie  Federal  Executive  Departments  as 
Sources  of  Information  (Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education, 
price  25  cents),  and  Guide  to  United  States  Government  Publications  (Educa- 
tion Bulletin,  1918,  No.  2,  price  20  cents).  The  government  publication  most 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  Vll 

frequently  referred  to  in  the  following  Readings  is  Lessons  in  Community 
mid  National  Life,  published  in  three  pamphlets  (Series  A,  B,  and  C)  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  price  15  cents  for  each  pamphlet.  These 
may  be  ordered  directly  from  the  Bureau  or  from  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents,  price  accompanying  the  order. 

Newspapers  should  become  a  "habit"  with  civics  classes.  Also  magazines 
and  periodicals.  Such  weeklies  as  The  Literary  Digest,  The  Outlook,  and  The 
Lndcpcndent  should  be  in  constant  demand.  Among  the  most  useful  monthly 
magazines  for  this  course  is  The  American  City  (154  Nassau  Street,  New  York 
City).  For  current  progress  in  city  government  nothing  is  better  than  The 
National  Municipal  Review  (261  Broadway,  New  York  City).  The  use  of  the 
public  library  should  also  become  a  habit  with  the  civics  class. 

Some  good  collection  of  patriotic  literature  is  invaluable  as  a  means  of 
stressing  civic  ideals,  such  as  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose  (D.  C.  Heath 
&  Company)  and  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals  (Houghton  Mifflin 
Company),  to  both  of  which  reference  is  made  in  the  Readings. 

Among  the  comparatively  few  books  frequently  referred  to  is  Tufts'  The 
Real  Business  of  Living  (Henry  Holt  &  Company),  with  which,  it  seems  to 
the  author,  every  young  American  citizen  should  become  familiar. 

Arthur  William  Dunn 
July,  1 92 1 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Our  Common  Purposes  in  Community  Life  .  i 
II.  How  WE  Depend  upon  One  Another  in  Com- 
munity Life 12 

III.  The  Need  for  Cooperation  in  Community 

Life       26 

IV.  Why  we  have  Government 40 

V.   What  is  Citizenship? 54 

VI.   What  is  our  Community? 62 

VII.   Our  National  Community     75 

VIIL   A  World  Community 93 

IX.  The  Community  and  the  Home 107 

X.  Education  and  the  Community 131 

XL  The  Community's  Health 160 

XIL  The  Social,  Aesthetic,  and  Religious  Life 

OF  THE  Community ig6 

XIII.  The  Protection  of  Property 225 

XIV.  Communication =    .    .    .  243 

XV.   Highways  and  Transportation 257 

XVI.   Earning  a  Living     282 

XVII.  Thrift 301 

XVIII.  Team  Work  in  Industry 323 

XIX.   How    Government    Serves    our    Economic 

Interests     345 

XX.  Our  Land  and  its  Resources 368 

XXL   Property  Rights 391 

XXII.   Dependent,  Defective,  and  Delinquent 

Members  of  the  Community 401 

XXIII.   Team  Work  in  Taxation 421 

ix 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV,  How  WE  Govern  Ourselves      435 

XXV.  Township  and  County  Governments     .    .    .  450 

XXVI.  Our  City  Government 473 

XXVII.  Our  State  Governments 493 

XXVIII.  Our  National  Government 517 

Appendix — The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ...  551 

Index       567 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 
FOR  CITY  SCHOOLS 


CHAPTER   I 

OUR  COMMON  PURPOSES  IN   COMMUNITY  LIFE 

The  most  important  element  of  success  in  community  life, 
as  in  a  ball  game,  a  family,  or  a  school,  is  team  work;  and  team 
work  depends,  first  of  all,  upon  a  common  purpose.   ,p  ^^  ^   . 
Our  nation  gave  an  example  of  team  work  during  the  and  common 
recent  war  such  as  is  seldom  seen ;  and  this  was  be-  5"^^?°^^^ 
cause  every  member  of  the  nation  was  keenly  intent  on  winning. 
We  may  see  the  same  thing  in  our  school  when  a  holiday  cele- 
bration is  being  planned,  when  an  athletic  tournament  is  ap- 
proaching, or  when  some  other  school  activity  is  under  way  in 
which  all  are  deeply  interested.    We  may  see  it  in  our  town  or 
neighborhood  when  enthusiasm   runs  high  over  some   public 
enterprise. 

All  communities  have  common  purposes,  although  they  are 
not  always  as  clearly  defined  as  when  our  nation  was  at  war, 
or  as  in  the  other  cases  mentioned  in  the  preceding  Recognition 
paragraph.     Sometimes  the  people  of  a  community,   of  common 
or  a  large  portion  of  them,  seem  to  be  wholly  un-  P"'^"^®^ 
conscious  that  a  common  purpose  exists.     This  may  be  true 
even  in  a  family  or  in  a  school.     And  when  this  happens,  the 


2  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

effect  is  the  same  as  if  there  were  no  common  purpose.  No 
club  or  athletic  team  can  be  successful  unless  its  members  have 
a  common  purpose  and  understand  it.  In  so  far  as  our  com- 
munities are  imperfect  — •  and  none  of  them  is  perfect  —  it  is 
largely  because  their  members  fail  to  recognize  or  understand 
their  common  purposes. 

People  in  communities  have  common  purposes  because  they 
have  the  same  wants.  This  may  not  at  first  seem  to  be  true. 
P  _  In  the  streets  of  any  large  city  we  may  see  throngs 

poses  due  to  of  people  hurrying  hither  and  thither,  jostling  one 
common  wants  another,  apparently  in  the  greatest  confusion. 
We  wonder  where  they  are  all  going,  what  they  are  doing,  what 
they  are  seeking.  There  seems  to  be  no  unity  of  purpose ;  each 
person  seems  intent  upon  his  own  pursuits  regardless  of  all 
others.  The  thing  that  first  impresses  us  is  the  apparent 
variety  of  people's  wants  and  often  even  the  conflict  or  "cross- 
ing" of  purposes. 

But  no  matter  how  numerous  and  varied  our  activities, 
they  are  all  due  to  a  very  few  important  wants,  common  to  all 
of  us  alike.  It  will  be  worth  while  to  test  the  truth  of  this, 
because  it  will  help  us  to  see  our  community  life  in  some  kind  of 
order,  and  will  throw  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  common  purposes 
that  control  it. 

For  example,  we  all  want  food,  drink,  and  sleep,  clothing  to 
protect  our  bodies,  and  houses  to  shelter  us.  But  all  these 
Physical  things  supply  our  physical  wants ;   that  is,  they  re- 

wants:  life  late  to  life  and  health.  Many  of  the  things  that  we 
^^  do  every  day  are  important  because  of  their  relation 

to  our  physical  well-being.  One  reason  why  we  enjoy  out-of- 
door  sports  is  that  they  make  our  blood  tingle  and  give  a  sense 
of  physical  pleasure.  Unless  our  physical  wants  are  provided 
for,  the  other  wants  of  life  cannot  well  be  satisfied.  Good 
health  is  a  priceless  possession. 

Mention  some  things  you  have  done  to-day  for  your  physical  welfare. 


COMMON  PURPOSES   IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  3 

Another  reason  why  sports  and  games  give  pleasure  is  be- 
cause of  the  association  they  afford  with  other  people.  Associa- 
tion with  others  is  a  second  great  want  which  explains  ^^ 

°  ^  The  want  for 

many  of  the  things  we  do.     Whatever  may  be  our  association 

other  reasons  for  going  to  school,  it  affords  us  the  ^^*^  others 
opportunity  to  meet  and  work  and  play  with  other  boys  and 


"Inspired  by  a  Common  Pukposk" 

girls  to  our  pleasure  and  profit.  One  of  the  objections  often 
raised  against  life  in  the  country  is  the  lack  of  opportunity  for 
association  with  other  people.  But  one  may  be  very  much 
alone  in  a  city  crowd,  where  nearly  all  are  strangers  to  one 
another,  and  where  there  is  very  little  real  association  among 
individuals.  Families  often  live  in  the  same  apartment  house 
without  knowing  one  anothe  . 

What  are  some  things  you  do  especially  for  the  sake  of  companionship  ? 

While  going  to  school  enables  us  to  associate  with  others,  the 
principal  reason  for  going  is  to  add  to  our  knowledge.  Whether 
we  always  like  our  studies  or  not,  we  certainly  want  knowledge, 
and  seek  it  in  many  ways.  We  read  the  newspaper  or  maga- 
zine that  comes  to  the  home.     We  ask  questions  of  parents 


4  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

and  others  who  have  more  experience  than  we.  We  stop  to 
watch  a  group  of  men  at  work,  or  to  find  out  what  has  attracted 
The  want  ^^  unusual  crowd.  We  may  travel  to  see  new 
for  sights.    The  discoveries  and  inventions  that  mark 

now  e  ge        nian's  progress  in  civilization  are  the  result  of  his 
unquenchable  thirst  for  knowledge. 


i 

L 

i 

■1^^.    •- 

\>:v-  •^•,:..••■•.-■v^'•■• 

■^■■•   -  -•■■■-•-,■■■■:■•■:.■..■»•. 

;^■^■?ffc/■^';";;y,>^ 

Celebrating  the  Completion  of  an  Ornamental   Lighting  System, 
Wichita  Falls,  Texas 

"Team  work  depends  upon  a  common  purpose.     It  is  sometimes  illustrated  in 
our  town  when  enthusiasm  runs  high  over  some  public  enterprise." 


Mention  some  of  the  different  ways  in  which  you  seek  knowledge. 
Mention  some  geographic  and  scientific  discoveries  that  have  been  made 
through  men's  search"  for  knowledge. 
What  is  science  ?     Name  some  sciences. 

Besides  health  and  knowledge  and  association  with  other 
people,  we  want  surroundings  that  are  pleasant  and  beautiful. 
The  want  for  beauty  is  sometimes  more  neglected  than  other 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  5 

wants,  but  it  is  important,  and  we  all  have  it  and  seek  to 
satisfy  it  in  some  way  or  other.  It  may  be  at  one  time  by  a 
walk,  in  the  park,  or  at  other  times  by  cultivating  xhe  want 
flowers,  by  keeping  our  room  tidy,  by  looking  at  ^°^  beauty 
pictures,  or  by  exercising  good  taste  in  clothing.  We  also  enjoy 
that  which  is  pleasing  to  the  ear  and  to  the  other  senses.  We 
dislike  hideous  noises  and  foul  odors. 

In  what  ways  do  you  provide  for  this  want? 


4| 

M  ^ 

m^iJI 

fm-- 

J 

^^^^^^1 

It'^' 

j^^ 

,V||gfe. 

H^^l 

^P 

.'^ 

^^^^■^^^^H 

^^K 

y  J 

1  wmpHfli 

Q 

^Bf 

l^^^S 

fc 

.     ^                   T-- 

^v3lliH^^I 

^^^^H 

^^^e 

Is 

i  \  H^  1  1 

.  «a.44 

r^is^^BBi 

l^9fli 

"The  Little  Sanctuary" 
Where  Beauty  and  Religion  blend 


Very  likely  we  go  to  church  on  Sunday.  It  afifords  opportu- 
nity to  associate  with  others,  to  add  to  our  knowledge,  and  to 
hear  beautiful  music.  But  the  church  service  is  The  religious 
one  of  the  chief  means  by  which  people  satisfy  an-  ''^*°* 
other  of  the  great  wants  of  life  —  the  religious  want.  In- 
dividuals differ  in  their  religious  ideas  and  in  the  depth  of  their 
religious  feeling,  but  in  every  community  there  are  certain 
things  that  men  do  because  of  it, 


6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  are  some  of  the  great  religions  of  the  world  ? 
Is  religion  a  strong  influence  in  your  community? 

Can  you  mention  any  great  historical  events  that  were  due  to  religious 
causes? 

Sometimes  after  school,  or  on  Saturdays,  or  in  vacation  time, 
we  work  at  tasks  to  earn  money,  perhaps  help  in  occupations 
The  want  that   contribute   to   the    "living"   of   the   family. 

for  wealth  Doubtless  we  have  thought  more  or  less  about 
what  we  are  going  to  do  for  a  living  after  we  leave  school.  We 
all  have  a  desire  to  own  things,  to  have  property,  to  accumulate 
wealth.  This  also  is  one  of  the  great  wants  of  life.  We  have 
perhaps  already  experienced  the  satisfaction  of  starting  a  bank 
account,  of  buying  a  set  of  tools,  a  bicycle,  or  some  books. 
The  chief  reason  why  we  want  to  "make  money,"  or  to  own 
things  (wealth),  is  because  of  what  we  can  do  with  them.  They 
enable  us  to  satisfy  our  wants.  Earning  a  living  simply  means 
earning  the  things  that  satisfy  our  wants  in  life. 

IMake  a  blackboard  list  of  the  occupations  by  which  the  parents  and  other 
members  of  the  families  of  the  pupils  in  the  class  make  a  living. 

Make  a  blackboard  list  of  things  done  by  members  of  the  class  to  earn 
money. 

What  is  your  choice  of  occupation  by  which  to  make  a  living  in  the 
future?     Why?     Make  a  blackboard  list  for  the  whole  class. 

The  six  kinds  of  wants  that  we  have  indicated  clearly  account 
for  many  of  the  things  that  we  do.  In  fact,  all  of  our  wants 
are  of  one  or  other  of  these  kinds  and  everything 
give  purpose  "^e  do  is  important  because  of  its  relation  to  them, 
to  community  ^^e  may  not  be  ready,  yet,  to  accept  this  state- 
ment. We  may  think  of  wants  that  seem  at  first 
not  to  fall  under  any  of  these  six  kinds.  It  will  do  no  harm  to 
add  other  kinds  to  the  list  if  we  think  it  necessary.  But,  at 
all  events,  the  six  kinds  of  wants  mentioned  are  common  to 
all  of  us.  We  live  in  communities  in  order  to  provide  for  them, 
and  a  community  is  good  to  live  in  in  proportion  as  it  affords 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  7 

opportunity  to  provide  for  all  of  them  adequately.     It  is  these 
wants  that  give  common  purpose  to  our  community  life. 

Make  as  complete  a  list  as  possible  of  the  things  you  did  yesterday  (out- 
side of  school  as  well  as  in  school).  Then  extend  the  list  to  include  the 
more  important  things  done  during  the  entire  week. 


icbl  L.  CVaiulall 


Columbus  MoNuiiENT,  Washington,  D.  C. 


It  was  the  desire  for  knowledge,  for  weahh,  and  for  the  spread  of  Christianity 
that  led  Columbus  to  America. 


Write  the  sLx  wants  across  the  top  of  a  page  of  your  notebook  or  a  sheet 
of  paper : 

Health        Knoivledge        Association        Beauty        Religion        Wealth 

Arrange  the  activities  in  your  list  in  the  sLx  columns  according  to  the 
wants  which  they  satisfy.  If  any  activity  clearly  satisfies  more  than  one 
of  the  wants,  write  it  down  in  each  of  the  proper  columns. 

Which  column  is  the  longest?  which  comes  next?  which  is  the  shortest? 


8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Is  your  longest  column  also  the  longest  in  the  lists  made  by  other  members 
of  your  class?  Compare  your  other  columns  with  those  of  your  classmates. 
Which  wants  seem  to  keep  you  busiest? 

Which  do  you  think  is  most  important?  Why?  Discuss  this  question 
in  class.     Do  you  all  agree  in  regard  to  this  point? 

If  any  of  the  activities  in  your  list  are  for  the  purpose  of  earning  money, 
tell  for  what  you  expect  to  spend  the  money.  Show  how  the  things 
you  expect  to  buy  with  your  money  will  help  to  satisfy  your  other  five 
wants. 

For  which  of  these  six  wants  do  you  spend  the  most  time  in  providing  ? 
your  father?  your  mother?  If  there  is  a  difference  in  the  three  answers, 
why  is  it  ? 

Do  you  have  difficulty  in  classifying  any  of  the  things  you  do,  or  that 
you  see  others  do,  under  any  of  the  six  heads?  Make  note  of  these  things 
and,  as  your  study  proceeds,  see  if  the  difficulty  of  classification  is  re- 
moved. 

Suppose  a  boy  is  a  bidly:  what  wants  does  he  satisfy  by  his  bullying 
conduct?  Suppose  a  boy  or  a  girl  is  ambitious  to  become  a  leader,  either 
among  present  companions  or  later  in  social  life,  business,  or  politics  :  under 
which  head  or  heads  would  you  place  this  ambition? 

A  boy  wants  to  enlist  in  the  army,  or  a  girl  as  an  army  nurse :  do  these 
wants  come  under  any  of  the  six  heads? 

Would  you,  after  your  discussion  of  these  topics,  add  any  other  group 
or  kind  of  wants  to  the  six  mentioned?     If  so,  what  would  you  call  it? 

Every  one  wants  happiness.  Why  is  it  not  necessary  to  make  a  special 
group  under  this  head? 

Make  a  list  of  things  done  in  your  home  to  provide  for  each  of  the  six 
wants. 

What  is  done  in  your  school  to  provide  for  the  want  for  health?  for 
beauty?  for  association  with  others?  for  the  religious  want?  Has  your 
school  work  any  relation  to  your  desire  to  make  a  living?  Is  it  the  business 
of  the  school  to  provide  for  all  these  things  as  well  as  for  the  want  for  knowl- 
edge? 

Make  a  list  of  a  few  things  done  in  your  community  outside  of  the  home 
and  school  to  provide  for  each  of  the  six  wants. 

Think  of  something  in  which  your  entire  community  is  deeply  interested, 
such  as  the  improvement  of  the  streets,  or  the  building  of  a  new  high  school, 
and  explain  what  wants  it  provides  for. 

What  wants  do  the  following  things  provide  for  :  postal  service ;  weather 
reports;  boy  or  girl  scouts;  a  school  garden;  a  library;  the  telephone; 
a  hospital;   a  parent-teacher  association? 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  9 

We  may  often  hear  our  common  purposes  as  communities 
or  as  a  nation  stated  in  dififerent  terms  than  those  suggested  in 
the  paragraphs  above.  For  example,  FrankUn  The  purpose 
K.  Lane,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  during  °^  democracy 
the  war,  said,  "Our  national  purpose- is  to  transmute  days  of 
dreary  work  into  happier  lives  —  for  ourselves  first  and  for  all 
others  in  their  time."  Again,  President  Wilson  said  that  our 
purpose  in  entering  the  World  War  was  to  help  "make  the  world 
safe  for  democracy."  Although  these  two  statements  read 
differently,  they  mean  very  much  the  same  thing ;  and  they  both 
refer  in  general  terms  to  the  things  this  chapter  discusses  in  more 
familiar  and  express  terms.  For  "happier  lives"  can  only 
result  from  a  more  complete  satisfaction  of  our  common  wants. 
And  "  democracy"  means,  in  part,  that  the  common  wants  of  all 
shall  be  properly  provided  for. 

In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  we  read : 
We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  that 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  li-ith  certain  unalienable  rights,  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  statement  that  "all  men  are  created  equal"  has  troubled 
many  people  when  they  have  thought  of  the  obvious  inequali- 
ties that  exist  in  natural  ability  and  opportunity.  ^ 
But  whatever  inequalities  may  exist,  people  are  alienable 
equal  in  their  right  to  satisfy  the  wants  described  "s^*^ 
in  this  chapter.  These  are  the  "unalienable  rights"  which  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  sums  up  in  the  phrase  "life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  That  community  is 
best  to  live  in  that  most  nearly  provides  equal  opportunity 
for  all  its  citizens  to  enjoy  these  rights.  From  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  to  the  present  day  our  great  national  purpose 
has  been  to  increase  this  opportunity,  even  though  at  times 
we  have  apparently  not  been  conscious  of  it,  and  even  though 
we  have  fallen  short  of  its  fulfillment.  One  of  the  chief  objects 
of  our  study  is  to  find  out  how  our  communities  are  seeking  to 
accomplish  this  purpose. 


lO  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

"  The  Declaration  of  Independence  did  not  mention  the  questions  of 
our  day.  It  is  of  no  consequence  to  us  unless  we  can  translate  its  gen- 
eral terms  into  examples  of  the  present  day  and  substitute  them  in 
some  vital  way  for  the  examples  it  itself  gives,  so  concrete,  so  intimately 
involved  in  the  circumstances  of  the  day  in  which  it  was  conceived  and 
written.  It  is  an  eminently  practical  document,  meant  for  the  use  of 
practical  men.  .  .  .  Unless  we  can  translate  it  into  the  questions  of 
our  own  day,  we  are  not  worthy  of  it,  we  are  not  sons  of  the  sires  who 
acted  in  response  to  its  challenge." 

—  WooDROW  Wilson,  in  The  New  Freedom,  pp.  48,  4Q. 

A  and  B  are  two  boys  of  the  same  age.  One  was  born  in  a  rich  family, 
and  one  in  a  very  poor  family.  So  far  as  this  accident  of  birth  is  concerned, 
have  they  equal  opportunity  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  life?  Have  they  an 
equal  right  to  health?  to  an  education?  to  pleasant  surroundings?  to  earn 
a  good  living? 

Suppose  A  is  a  native  American  boy,  and  B  a  foreign-born  boy  who  speaks 
a  foreign  language :  does  this  make  any  difference  in  their  right  to  life  and 
health,  an  education,  etc.  ?  Does  it  make  any  difference  in  their  opportunity 
to  satisfy  their  wants  in  these  directions? 

Can  you  think  of  persons  in  your  community  who  have  less  opportunity 
to  satisfy  their  wants  than  you  have?  Can  you  think  of  any  persons  who 
have  less  rigid  to  satisfy  their  wants  than  you  have? 

The  first  ten  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  com- 
prise what  is  known  as  a  "bill  of  rights."  Study  together  in  class  this  bill 
of  rights  (see  Appendix)  to  see  how  many  of  the  wants  described  in  this 
chapter  are  there  provided  for  directly  and  indirectly. 

Has  your  state  constitution  a  bill  of  rights?  If  so,  read  it  together  in 
class  for  the  same  purpose  as  suggested  in  the  last  question. 

READINGS 

Preamble  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  (see  Appendix). 

The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  i,  iv  (Heath). 

Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.),  chap,  xxxix, 

"Democracy  as  Equality." 
Van  Dyke,  Henry,  "Equality  of  Opportunity,"  in  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose, 

pp.  311,  312  (Heath). 
See  the  note  on  reference  materials  in  the  Introduction  to  this  book,  page  v. 

It  should  become  a  habit  of  both  teacher  and  pupils  to  be  on  the  constant 
lookout  for  news  items  and  discussions  in  available  newspapers  and  periodi- 


COMMON  PURPOSES  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  1 1 

cals  illustrative  of  the  points  made  in  each  chapter  or  lesson.  Individual 
scrapbooks  may  be  made ;  but  more  important  than  this  is  the  assembling 
of  such  material  as  a  class  enterprise,  its  classification  under  proper  heads, 
and  its  preservation  in  scrapbooks  or  in  files  as  working  material  for  suc- 
ceeding classes.  There  will  always  be  enough  for  each  class  to  do,  while 
each  class  at  the  same  time  contributes  to  the  success  of  the  work  of  later 
classes.     The  idea  of  service  should  dominate  such  work. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON   ONE  ANOTHER  IN 
COMMUNITY  LIFE 

Nothing  could  be  freer  than  air.     But,  even  as  we  sit  in 

our  schoolroom,  whether  or  not  we  get  all  the  pure  air  we  need 

depends  upon  how  the  schoolhouse  was  built  for 

Interdepend-       gj^tii^tion,  the  number  of  people  who  occupy  the 

ence  an  '  jt      i 

important  room,  the  care  that  is  taken  by  others  to  keep 

^^^^  the  room  free  from  dust,  the  health  and  cleanliness 

of  those  who  sit  in  the  room  with  us.     If  this  dependence  upon 

others  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  very  air  we  breathe,  how  much 

more  true  it  must  be  of  other  necessaries  of  life  that  are  not  so 

abundant. 

This  dependence  of  people  upon  one  another  for  the  satis- 
faction of  their  wants  is  one  of  the  most  important  facts  about 
community  life.  It  is  not  merely  that  A  and  B  have  the  same 
wants,  but  that  A  is  dependent  upon  B,  and  B  upon  A,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  their  wants,  that  makes  their  wants  common. 

Mention  the  people,  both  inside  and  outside  of  your  home,  who  had  a 
share  in  providing  for  you  the  food  you  had  for  breakfast  or  dinner. 

Mention  all  the  workers  that  occur  to  you  who  have  been  employed  in 
producing  for  you  the  clothing  you  wQar;  the  book  you  are  reading;  the 
materials  of  which  your  house  is  built. 

Show  how  the  people  who  produce  these  things  are  dependent  upon  your 
wants  for  their  livelihood. 

Show  that  you  are  dependent  upon  other  people  for  your  education; 
for  recreation.  Are  other  people  dependent  upon  your  education  for  their 
welfare?     Are  others  dependent  on  you  for  their  recreation? 

The  farmer's  life,  like  that  of  the  pioneer,  is  comparatively 
independent.    In  early  New  England 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


13 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 

The  Pioneer 

Statue  at  the  University  of  Oregon 

"He  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  and  with  his  dull-eyed  oxen  has  made  the  long, 
long  journey  across  our  continent.    His  way  has  been  hard,  slow,  momentous. 
"  Without  him  we  would  not  be  here. 
"His  is  this  one  glory  —  he  found  the  way."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 


14  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Every  farmhouse  was  a  manufactory,  not  of  one  kind  of  goods,  but  of 

many.     All  day  long  in  the  chamber  or  attic  the  sound  of  the  spinning-wheel 

and  loom  could  be  heard.     Carpets,  shawls,  bed-spreads, 

naepend-         table-covers,    towels,    and   cloth   for   garments   were  made 
ence  or  the        ,  ;  ,  ,        ,  ^       r  r^,      ,  •    , 

pioneer  irom   materials    produced   on   the   farm.      Ihe   kitchen  of 

the  house  was  a  baker's  shop,  a  confectioner's  establish- 
ment, and  a  chemist's  laboratory.  Every  kind  of  food  for  immediate  use 
was  prepared  there  daily;   and  on  special  occasions  sausages,  head  cheese, 


Isolation 
A  pioneer  homestead  on  the  prairies 

pickles,  apple  butter,  and  preserves  were  made.  It  was  also  the  place  where 
soap,  candles,  and  vinegar  were  manufactured.  Agricultural  implements 
were  then  few  and  simple,  and  farmers  made  as  many  of  them  as  they  could. 
Every  farmhouse  was  a  creamery  and  cheese  factory.  As  there  were  no 
sewing  machines,  the  farmer's  wife  and  daughters  had  to  ply  the  hand 
needle  most  of  the  time  when  they  were  not  engaged  in  more  laborious  pur- 
suits. During  the  long  evenings  they  generally  knit  socks  and  mittens  or 
made  rag  carpets.  ^ 

As  soon  as  a  number  of  people  come  to  live  together,  even  in 
a  pioneer  community,  it  is  likely  that  some  members  will  have 

'  Nourse,  Agricultural  Economics,  p.  64,  from  "The  Farmer's  Changed  Condi- 
tions," by  Rodney  Welsh,  in  the  Forum,  x,  6S9-92  (Feb.,  1S91). 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


IS 


a  knack  for  doing  certain  things  of  use  to  the  community 
better  than  others  can  do  them.  Thus  one  man  may  be 
especially  skillful  in  making  ax  handles.     In  time,  ^.  .. 

the  entire  community  comes  to  depend  upon  him   of  inter- 
for  its  ax  handles.    In  addition,  he  probably  makes  ^^^P^i^dence 
other  tools  and  does  repair  work  of  all  kinds.     This  requires 


The  Spinning  Room  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Washington's  Old  Home 

"All  day  long  in  the  chamber  or  attic  the  sound  of  the  spinning-wheel 
and  loom  could  be  heard." 


SO  much  of  his  time  that  he  does  little  or  no 
pends  upon  others  for  his  food  supply.  So, 
time,  the  community  has  its  blacksmiths, 
makers,  teachers,  storekeepers,  doctors,  upon 
for  their  special  kinds  of  service,  while  each 
upon  others  to  supply  the  wants  that  he  has 
nor  the  skill  to  supply  for  himself.  Thus 
develops  in  the  simplest  communities. 


farming,  and  de- 

in  the  course  of 

carpenters,   shoe- 

whom  it  depends 

of  them  depends 

neither  the  time 

interdependence 


i6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  larger  a  community  becomes  the  greater,  in  many  ways, 
is  the  interdependence  of  its  members.  The  greater  the  num- 
Interdepend-  ber  of  people,  and  the  more  closely  together  they 
live,  the  more  easily  is  disease  spread  and  the  more 
one's  health  depends  upon  what  one's  neighbors 
do.  The  same  is  true  with  respect  to  safety  of 
life  and  of  property.     The  property  that  we  own  may  increase 


ence  increas- 
es with  the 
growth  of  the 
community 


Spinning  Room  in  Modern  Cotton  Mill 


or  decrease  in  value  according  to  the  care  that  our  neighbors  take 
of  their  property ;  it  will  be  less  valuable  if  the  neighbors  let 
their  buildings  run  down  and  their  premises  become  littered  with 
trash,  than  it  will  be  if  they  keep  their  buildings  in  good  repair 
and  their  premises  in  good  order.  Men  often  buy  property  and 
let  it  lie  idle  while  it  increases  in  value  because  of  improvements 
in  the  neighborhood.  The  increase  in  value  of  property  due  to 
this  cause  is  known  as  the  unearned  increment  — ■  that  is,  the  un- 
earned increase. 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


17 


An  Area  of  High  Values 

The  church  building  shown  here  (Trinity  Church,  New  York  City)  was  erected 
in  1846.  Since  then  all  these  massive  buildings  have  crowded  around  it,  until  the 
land  values  at  this  point  are  probably  higher  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 


When  Judge  Edward  Pinkney  Hill,  one  time  a  citizen  of  Houston,  Texas, 
died,  he  left  a  will  to  the  following  effect: 

"  I  give,  bequeath  and  return  to  the  people  of  Houston  in  their  corporate 
capacity  as  the  city  of  Houston  ...  all  my  property,  real  and  personal, 
that  I  may  own  at  my  death. 


1 8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

"I  am  influenced  to  this  disposition  of  my  estate  by  the  reflection  that  I 
went  to  Houston  early  in  1886  with  nothing.  "When  I  had  made  a  few 
dollars  above  necessity  I  invested  in  city  lots  and  continued  like  investments 
while  I  lived  there  up  to  1897,  before  which  time,  after  a  division  of  my  prop- 
erty, there  remained  to  me  enough  to  enable  me  to  retire  from  business. 
This  good  fortune  came  unearned  by  me  through  increased  value  of  real 
estate,  and  it  seems  appropriate  that  the  city  of  Houston  should  have  such 
share  in  that  good  fortune  as  I  am  in  a  situation  to  return."  1 

What  is  your  opinion  of  the  citizenship  of  this  citizen  of  Houston? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  in  your  own  community  where  land  has  increased 
in  value  while  lying  idle?     The  reasons? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  in  your  community  where  property  has  depreciated 
in  value  because  of  neighborhood  influences? 

Why  should  the  growth  of  your  community  increase  the  value  of  your 
home  ?  Why  should  the  care  you  take  of  your  premises  tend  to  influence  the 
growth  of  your  community? 

Give  illustrations  to  show  how  your  health  is  dependent  upon  other  people 
in  your  home,  in  your  neighborhood,  in  remote  parts  of  the  city.  Also, 
how  the  health  of  others  may  be  dependent  upon  you. 

Suppose  a  schoolmate  comes  to  school  with  measles  or  some  other  con- 
tagious disease.  How  may  this  aFect  your  school  work?  Your  association 
with  others?     How  may  it  evei  add  to  your  father's  expenses? 

Show  the  interdependence  of  people  in  your  community  for  safety  from 
fire ;  for  safety  from  accident  in  the  shop  or  on  the  street. 

Is  your  family  more  or  less  dependent  upon  others  to  supply  its  wants 
than  the  families  of  your  parents  or  grandparents  when  they  were  children  ? 
Why  is  it?  Get  all  the  information  you  can  from  your  parents  or  grand- 
parents on  this  point. 

Which  is  more  dependent  upon  others  for  its  daily  wants,  a  family  that 
lives  on  a  farm  in  your  neighborhood  or  one  that  lives  in  town?  Give 
examples  to  prove  your  answer. 

A  city  man  may  be  entirely  unacquainted  with  most  of  the 

people  around  him,  even  in  his  own  block,  and  may  apparently 

Interde-  have  no  concern  in  their  affairs.    And  yet  doubt- 

pendence  jggg  j^Qg^  of  his  neighbors  and  many  of  those  whom 

not  always  ,   .      .     ,  . 

apparent  he  passes  on  the  street  are  engaged  m  mdustries  or 

businesses  without  which  his  own  business  or  profession  might 

fail,  or  without  which  he  could  not  even  build  his  own  home. 

'Quoted  from  The  American  City,  Nov.,  1920,  p.  509. 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


19 


Make  a  census  of  the  block  in  which  you  live  and  tabulate  the  occupations, 
businesses,  and  professions  represented  by  the  residents,  including  that  of 
your  father.     Then  show  the  interdependence  existing  among  them. 


Teeming  Life  in  the  City 

"Throngs  of  people  hurrying  hither  and  thither,  apparently  in  the  greatest 
confusion.  Interdependence  may  easily  be  lost  sight  of  when  the  community 
becomes  large;    but  it  is  none  the  less  real,  and  even  more  far-reaching." 

If  we  want  coffee,  or  sugar,  or  other  provisions  for  breakfast 
or  dinner,  we  go  or  telephone  to  the  grocer.     He  performs  an 
important  service  for  us.     If  his  service  is  poor, 
or  his  prices  too  high,  he  is  Hkely  to  receive  the   examples  of 
blame  for  it.     But  the  prices  he  charges  and  the  interdepend- 
service  he  gives  are  partly  dependent  upon  his 
customers ;   and  the  customers  are  dependent  upon  one  another, 
to  some  extent,  for  the  prices  they  pay  and  the  service  they 
get.     It  takes  money  to  run  a  grocery.     If  some  customers  are 
slow  in  paying  their  accounts,  it  interferes  with  the  service 


20  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

given  to  themselves  and  to  other  customers.  The  prices  a 
grocer  charges  are  likely  to  be  put  high  enough  to  cover  losses 
from  the  failure  of  an  occasional  customer  to  pay  his  bills. 
In  these  days  of  telephones,  it  is  a  common  practice  for  people 
to  telephone  frequent  orders  during  the  day  for  small  items  and 
ask  to  have  them  delivered,  whereas,  with  a  little  forethought, 
the  day's  supplies  could  be  ordered  at  one  time  and  delivered 
at  one  time.  Frequent  deliveries  at  one  home  tend  to  delay 
deliveries  at  other  homes  and  to  add  to  prices,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  a  delivery  system  adds  to  the  grocer's  expenses. 

The  interdependence  of  people  in  communities  extends  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  neighborhood  or  city,  as  will  be  seen 
ltd-  if  we  follow  through  the  process  by  which  almost 

pendence  any  of  our  common  needs  is  provided  for.     We 

far-reaching  ^g^^t  a  pair  of  shoes,  for  example.  Though 
bought  at  a  local  store,  they  are  made  for  us  in  a  factory  em- 
ploying hundreds  of  men  and  women,  probably  in  a  distant 
city,  say  in  Massachusetts.  The  leather  from  which  they  are 
made  is  produced  from  the  hides  of  cattle  raised  in  the  Far  West 
or  perhaps  even  on  the  plains  of  Argentina.  It  is  tanned  by  the 
use  of  an  acid  from  the  bark  of  certain  forest  •  trees.  The 
machinery  by  which  the  shoes  are  made  is  manufactured  still  by 
other  machines,  and  the  necessary  metals  are  produced  by 
miners.  To  smelt  the  ores  from  which  the  metals  come,  and  to 
operate  the  factories,  there  must  be  fuel  from  other  mines.  The 
workers  engaged  in  all  these  operations  must  be  fed  and  clothed 
and  housed,  requiring  the  labor  of  farmers  and  food  packers, 
millers  and  bakers,  lumbermen  and  carpenters,  operators 
of  cotton  and  woolen  mills,  and  many  others.  At  every  stage 
transportation  enters  in,  — •  by  team  and  automobile  truck,  by 
railway,  by  water.  The  money  with  which  we  buy  the  shoes 
is  coined  or  printed  in  establishments  operated  by  our  govern- 
ment from  metals  or  on  paper  produced  by  a  variety  of  indus- 
tries.    It  has  come  into  our  possession  to  use  in  buying  shoes 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER       21 

because  we,  or  our  parents,  have  earned  it  by  performing  some 
service  useful  to  all  the  other  workers. 

These  are  only  a  part  of  the  activities  necessary  in  order  that 
we  may  have  a  pair  of  shoes.  It  would  seem  that  practically 
every  kind  of  worker  and  industry  in  the  world  has  something 
to  do  with  it.  People  in  communities  to-day  are  indeed  very 
interdependent. 

Make  a  list  of  the  occupations  of  the  parents  of  the  members  of  your  class, 
and  show  how  the  parents  of  each  pupil  are  dependent  upon  the  occupations 
of  the  parents  of  all  the  other  members. 

We  best  realize  our  interdependence  when  something  happens 

to  disturb  our  accustomed   relations,   just  as  we  best  realize 

the  value  of  the  telephone  when  it  is  out  of  order, 

.     ,  ,  ,  .  Unexpected 

or  of  the  street  cars  when  they  are  not  runnmg.   results  of 

We  are  unpleasantly  reminded  of  it,  for  example,   interde- 

,  111-  pendence 

when    our    apparently    smoothly    runnmg    com- 
munity life  is  thrown  into  confusion  by  a  strike  of  some  group  of 
railroad  men,  of  carpenters  or  steamfitters,  of  steel  workers,  of 
miners,  of  teamsters,  or  of  longshoremen. 

The  recent  great  war  produced  conditions  that  made  us  conscious  of  our 
interdependence  in  unexpected  ways.  For  example,  if  we  had  gone  into  a 
store  to  buy  underwear  in  the  early  part  of  the  war^  we  should  have  found 
that  the  price  had  greatly  increased,  and  we  might  have  been  told,  if  the 
salesmen  were  well  informed,  that  the  high  price  was  due  in  part  to  the 
manufacture  of  airplanes!  The  explanation  is  that  the  wire  stays  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  airplanes  are  made  of  steel  wire  from  which  machine 
knitting  needles  are  also  made.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  all  of  the  avail- 
able wire  of  this  kind  was  taken  for  airplanes,  thus  limiting  the  supply  of 
knitting  needles  and  consequently  of  knit  goods. 

This  chapter  is  meant  to  suggest  by  a  'few  examples  how  im- 
possible it  is  for  any  one  in  the  community  to  live  to  himself. 
Each  is  affected  for  good  or  for  ill  by  all  that  goes   j^^  ^^^  ^^^ 
on  around  him,  and  each  in  turn  exerts  his  in-   live  to  him- 
fiuence  upon  others.     An  apparently  insignificant 
act  may  profoundly  affect  the  life  of  the  community.    A  family 


2  2  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

that  is  careless  in  the  disposal  of  refuse  from  the  house  or  stable 
may  unconsciously  poison  the  water  supply  of  an  entire  com- 
munity. Sometimes  men  oppose  public  improvements,  such  as 
paved  streets  or  a  new  school  building,  because  they  see  only 
the  direct  money  cost,  and  fail  to  see  more  important  losses  to 
themselves  and  to  the  community  if  the  improvements  are  not 
made. 

These  facts  suggest  the  unwisdom  of  forming  hasty  judgments 
about  things  that  happen,  or  conditions  that  exist,  or  proposals 

T^  c         that  are  made,  in  our  communitv  life.     There  are 

Danger  or  '  - 

hasty  judg-  people  in  every  community  who  are  always  ready 
™^"*^  to  tell  glibly  just  why  the  cost  of  living  is  so  high, 

and  who  is  to  blame  for  it ;  or  just  how  the  schools,  or  the  rail- 
roads, or  the  city  government,  should  be  run  to  get  the  best 
results.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  even  those  conditions  or  events 
that  are  apparently  most  simple  are  usually  related  to  other 
conditions  and  events  that  are  not  at  first  apparent.  Wise 
judgment  and  wise  action  are  dependent  upon  the  most  com- 
plete knowledge  obtainable. 

Another  result  of  this  fact  of  interdependence  in  community 
life  is  that  it  places  certain  restrictions  upon  our  liberty,  which 
is  said  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  be  one  of  the 
"unalienable  rights"  of  all  men.  If  any  member  of  the  com- 
munity had  absolute  liberty  to  do  as  he  pleased,  he  would 
soon  interfere  with  the  rights  of  others.  Then  what  would 
become  of  the  "equality"  which  the  Declaration 
pendence  ^^^^  proclaims?     Equal  liberty  for  all  is  the  aim  of 

restricts  democracy,  and  this  can  be  obtained  only  when 

^^^^  each  acts  with  full  regard  for  the  rights  of  others. 

This  is  what  is  meant  by  "justice."  "Liberty,"  "justice," 
"equality," —  these  are  essential  in  a  democracy.  But  they 
are  often  misunderstood. 

"What  is  liberty?     I  have  long  had  an  image  in  my  mind  of  what  con- 
stitutes liberty.     Suppose  that  I  were  to  build  a  great  piece  of  powerful 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER 


23 


("curtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 
Washington  Monument,  Washington,  D.  C. 

"It  stands  in  our  national  capital  as  the  uplifted  arm  of  a  free  people  rising  to  the 
heavens  as  a  national  pledge,  that  we  who  have  had  the  advantages  of  free 
institutions,  that  we  who  have  in  our  hearts  ideals  of  liberty  and  justice,  will 
stand  firm  as  stone  and  pledge  our  eternal  loyalty  to  those  ideals,  to  those  mysteri- 
ous things  which  go  to  make  up  a  democracy.  It  is  that  spirit  that  makes 
America."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 


24  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

machinery,  and  suppose  that  I  should  so  awkwardly  and  unskillfuUy  assemble 
the  parts  of  it  that  every  time  one  part  tried  to  move  it  would  be  interfered 
with  by  others.  Liberty  for  the  several  parts  would  consist  in  the  best 
possible  assembling  and  adjustment  of  them  all,  would  it  not?  That  is 
liberty!  You  say  of  the  locomotive  —  it  runs  free.  What  do  you  mean? 
You  mean  that  its  parts  are  so  assembled  and  adjusted  that  friction  is 
reduced  to  the  minimum,  and  that  it  has  perfect  adjustment.  .  .  .  Human 
freedom  consists  in  perfect  adjustments  of  human  interests  and  human 
activities  and  human  energies." 

—  WooDROW  Wilson,  The  New  Freedom,  p.  282. 

In  an  entertaining  article  in  the  American  Magazine  for  September,  1920, 
Mr.  Irving  S.  Cobb  says,  "My  present  aim  is  to  show  how  utterly  we  have 
lost  our  freedom  in  certain  minor  details;  for  example: 

Freedom  to  wear  the  sort  of  garments  one  fancies. 

Freedom  from  unnecessary  and  nerve-shredding  noises. 

Freedom  to  enjoy  a  reasonable  degree  of  privacy,  when  so  inclined. 

Freedom  to  have,  in  moderation,  fresh  air  and  light. 

Freedom  to  practice  thrift  in  the  matter  of  spending  —  or  husbanding  — 
one's  spare  cash." 

Show  how  our  dependence  upon  one  another  restricts  our  freedom  in  each 
of  the  above  particulars. 

Does  a  child  become  more  or  less  dependent  upon  others  as  he  grows 
older?     Explain  your  answer. 

Show  that  as  a  person  becomes  more  "self-dependent"  other  people 
become  more  dependent  upon  him ;  for  example,  in  the  home,  and  in  school. 

We  often  hear  of  "self-made  men."  What  does  it  mean?  Can  a  man  be 
entirely  "self-made"? 

Show  that  your  schoolmates  are  as  dependent  upon  you  as  you  are  upon 
them. 

Watch  the  newspapers  for  items  illustrating  interdependence,  or  con- 
flicts due  to  it. 

Is  the  community  in  which  you  live  dependent  upon  you  in  any  way? 
Give  illustrations. 

Taxpayers  like  to  keep  the  tax  rate  as  low  as  possible.  In  their  interest 
in  doing  this,  is  it  possible  that  they  might  interfere  with  your  getting  a  good 
education  in  favorable  surroundings?     Explain.     Who  are  the  taxpayers? 

From  observation  in  your  own  community,  give  illustrations  to  show 
how  people,  in  attempting  to  satisfy  their  own  wants,  may  interfere  with  the 
efforts  of  others  to  satisfy  theirs.     The  following  are  given  as  suggestions : 

An  employer  and  those  whom  he  employs. 


HOW  WE  DEPEND  UPON  ONE  ANOTHER       25 

A  man  who  owns  a  house  and  the  tenant  to  whom  he  rents  it. 

A  man  who  keeps  a  liv^ery  stable  adjoining  a  schoolhouse. 

A  grocer  who  displays  his  goods  on  the  sidewalk  (especially  food  products). 

A  boy  who  raises  chickens  and  one  who  has  a  garden  adjoining. 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life  (see  note  on  reference  materials  in  Intro- 
duction) : 
Series  A:  Lesson  i,  Some  fundamental  aspects  of  social  organization. 

Lesson  2,  The  western  pioneer. 
Series  B  :  Lesson  i,  The  effect  of  the  war  on  commerce  in  nitrate. 
Lesson  2,  The  varied  occupations  of  a  colonial  farm. 
Lesson  12,  Impersonality  of  modern  life. 
Series  C:  Lesson  i,  The  war  and  aeroplanes. 

Lesson  2,  Spinning  and  dyeing  in  colonial  times. 
Lesson  9,  Inventions. 

Lesson  11,  The  effects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 
Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  i,  v;    and  Community 

Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap.  ii. 
Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chap,  xiv  (The  New  Meaning  of  Life), 

and  chap,  xxxi  (Problems  of  country  life). 
Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Home  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 

Finley,  John  H.,  "  Paths  of  the  Pioneers,"  in  Long's  A  merican  Patriotic  Prose,  pp.  1-4. 
Pioneer  stories  from  any  available  source,  especially  local  history  stories. 


CHAPTER   III 
THE  NEED   FOR   COOPERATION   IN    COMMUNITY  LIFE 

When  people  have  common  purposes  and  are  dependent 
upon  one  another  in  accompHshing  them,  there  must  be  co- 
The  need  Operation,  which  is  another  name  for  "team  work." 

for  team  A  team  of  horses  that  does  not  pull  together  can- 

^^^  not  haul  a  heavy  load.     A  baseball  team,  though 

composed  of  good  players,  will  seldom  win  games  unless  its 
team  work  is  good.  A  few  soldiers  or  policemen  may  easily 
disperse  a  mob,  because  they  have  team  work,  while  a  mob 
usually  does  not.  This  principle  of  "pulling  together,"  "team 
■work,"  or  "cooperation,"  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  com- 
munity life.     There  can  be  no  real  community  life  without  it. 

Cooperation  is  sometimes  a  very  simple  matter,  as  when  a 
number  of  boys  join  forces  to  move  a  heavy  object  that  defies 
the  eflforts  of  one.  When  children  help  their  mother  in  house- 
hold tasks  it  is  an  example  of  team  work.  Because  all  share  in 
the  task,  it  is  completed  quickly  and  pleasantly.  A  group  of 
girls  or  boys  may  study  a  lesson  together,  and  by  their  united 
effort  learn  it  more  quickly  and  happily  than  if  each  studied 
by  himself. 

However,  the  group  of  girls  or  boys  who  are  "studying  to- 
gether" may  fail  to  get  results;  instead  of  having  learned  their 
Essentials  lesson  more  quickly,  they  may  find  that  no  one 
for  effective  has  mastered  it.  This  may  be  merely  because 
coopera  ion  othej-  interests  have  been  allowed  to  interfere 
with  the  common  purpose  for  which  they  came  together.  But 
it  may  also  be  due  to  the  lack  of  two  things   that  are  quite 

26 


(  COOPERATION  IN  COMMLNITY  LIFE  27 


LETS   PULL  TOGETHER 


TEAM  WORK-  " 


(Conrtesr  of  Armour  &  Co.) 


success! 


In  Union  There  is  Strength 


28 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


necessary  for  effective  team  work,  namely,    organization  and 

leadership. 

If  we  watch  a  group  of  workmen  lifting  a  steel  rail,  or  other 

heavy  object,  we  shall  perhaps  observe  that  some  one  of  them 

.    ,.         gives  a  signal,  and  that  all  sing  out  in  unison, 
Organization      6  o        '  ^ 

and  leader-       "  Yo,  heave,  ho  ! "     This  has  the  effect  of  organizing 
^^'P  their  effort,  so  that  all  exert  their  strength  at  the 

same  moment  and  with  the  greatest  result.     In  homes  where  the 


Pulling  Together 

mother  and  children  do  the  housework,  it  moves  most  smoothly 
when  it  is  organized  under  leadership.  In  this  case  there  is 
probably  a  division  of  labor;  that  is,  instead  of  all  washing  the 
dishes,  which  might  cause  confusion  in  the  kitchen,  two  may 
perform  this  task,  while  another  may  make  the  beds,  and  an- 
other straighten  up  the  front  part  of  the  house. 

What  are  the  advantages  of  such  organization  of  home  work? 
If  one  or  more  servants  are  employed  in  the  home,  does  it  increase  or 
decrease 'family  cooperation?     Why?     Under  these  conditions  what  part 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  29 

does  the  mother  of  the  family  play?  The  children  in  the  family?  What 
advantages  may  be  gained  by  this  kind  of  organization  in  the  home? 

Give  examples  of  cooperation  in  your  home,  and  show  what  is  gained  by  it 
In  what  ways  do  ^ou  think  cooperation  could  be  improved  in  your  home? 
Work  out  a  plan  for  it. 

Give  examples  of  cooperation  in  your  school.  Suggest  plans  to  improve 
such  cooperation. 

Give  illustrations  of  the  failure  of  enterprises  in  which  you  have  been 
interested  because  of  a  lack  of  team  work. 

Athletic  sports  afford  excellent  examples  of  organization  and 
leadership  to  secure  team  worK..  In  a  baseball  or  football  team, 
each  member  plays  a  part  different  from  that  of  all  the  others, 
but  all  work  together  like  a  machine.  We  have  only  to  compare 
the  playing  of  a  professional  team  with  that  of  a  chance  ''nine" 
of  boys  hastily  brought  together  on  a  city  lot,  to  see  the  im- 
portance of  organization  under  leadership.  We  see  it  again  if 
we  compare  the  highly  effective  work  of  a  fire  company,  or  a 
battalion  of  companies,  with  the  futile  efforts  of  an  equally 
earnest  crowd  of  unorganized  people  to  save  property  from  fire. 
Every  industrial  plant,  and  every  successful  business  establish- 
ment such  as  a  bank  or  a  department  store,  or  a  newspaper 
ofl&ce,  affords  an  example  of  organization  and  leadership  to 
secure  cooperation.  Business  simply  cannot  be  carried  on 
successfully  Without  it. 

Describe  in  detail  the  "organization"  of  an  athletic  team.  Just  how 
does  each  feature  in  this  organization  help  to  secure  team  work  ? 

Do  the  same  for  a  fire  company  in  your  community. 

If  your  father  or  other  member  of  your  family  works  in  a  large  store  or 
factory,  or  helps  to  manage  one,  ask  him  how  team  work  is  secured  there, 
how  the  work  is  organized  for  that  purpose,  how  leadership  is  provided  for. 
Have  reports  of  these  conversations  made  in  class. 

Study  the  organization  of  a  factory,  department  store,  or  newspaper 
establishment  in  your  community.  Observe  particularly  how  each  worker 
in  one  of  these  establishments  is  likely  to  be  a  "specialist"  (what  does  this 
mean?),  and  how  organization  and  leadership  combine  the  work  of  all  these 
specialists  in  the  final  product,  such  as  the  printed  newspaper. 

List  the  clubs,  or  other  "pupil  organizations,"  in  your  school,  and  "or- 


30 


COMMUNITY  CI\aCS 


ganizations"  to  which  you  belong  outside  of  school.  Note  the  "common 
purpose"  of  each;  the  interdependence  of  the  members  of  each.  Describe 
how  each  is  organized  for  teamwork.  How  is  leadership  provided  for?  Is 
there  a  "constitution"?     If  so,  what  is  it  for? 

Describe  the  organization  of  your  school.     How  "does   it   secure  team 
work?     Does  it  fail  in  any  way  to  secure  team  work?     If  so,  why  is  it ? 


Direct  Cooperation  in  Building  Farm  Bureau  Center  Hall 
Men  of  the  community  giving  their  labor 

Under  the  conditions  of  pioneer  life,  if  a  church  or  a  school- 
iiouse  or  a  dwelling  were  to  be  built,  the  men  of  the  neighborhood 
Industrial  were  likely  to  join  forces,  going  to  the  woods  to  cut 
organization  j^^g  timber,  hewing  it  into  shape  with  their  axes, 
and  erecting  the  building  by  massing  their  labor.  Under 
present-day  conditions  buildings  are  usually  erected  very 
differently.  The  materials  are  no  longer  produced  from  the 
neighboring  forest,  but  from  remote  forests,  mines,  and  quarries, 
and  are  transformed  from  the  raw  materials  into  suitable  forms 
for  building  by  a  great  variety  of  widely  distributed  industries. 
These  products  are  assembled  by  various  means  of  transportation 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE 


31 


in  distributing  centers,  whence  they  are  finally  brought  to  the 
building  site.  Many  kinds  of  workers  who  are  personally  un- 
known to  one  another  are  engaged  in  these  operations ;  and 
the  building  itself  is  constructed  by  a  variety  of  specialized 
workers,  such  as  carpenters,  masons,  painters,  etc.  This  whole 
process,  like  that  of  producing  the  pair  of  shoes  (page  20),  is 


Play  Shed  and  Gymnasium  Built  by  Eighth  Grade  Boys 
Team  work  and  leadership  were  necessary 

made  possible  by  the  extremely  complex  industrial  organization 
of  the  present  time. 

We  need  only  to  look  around  us  to  find  examples  in  abundance 
of  organized  cooperation.  Wherever  a  number  of  people  have 
a  strong  interest  in  the  same  thing,  they  are  likely  ciubs  and 
to  organize  to  promote  it.  Hence  we  find  clubs  and  associations 
associations  almost  too  numerous  to  mention.  Men  engaged  in 
the  same  line  of  business  or  in  the  same  profession  organize,  as  in 
the  case  of  grocers'  associations,  bankers'  associations,  medical 
associations,  bar  associations,  teachers'  associations,  and  trade 
unions  of  various  kinds.  Then  there  are  organizations  of  men 
who  are  in  different  lines  of  business,  but  who  have  certain  broad 


32  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

interests  in  common,  such  as  rotary  clubs,  chambers  of  com- 
merce, merchants'  and  manufacturers'  associations,  and  the  like. 
A  church  is  an  institution  to  enable  people  of  the  same 
religious  faith  to  cooperate  in  religious  matters.  A  public  school 
Church  provides  the  entire  community  with  a  means  of 

School  and        cooperating  for  the  education  of  the  community's 
*  '^^^^  children   (see  page  40).     In  a  small  community 

there  may  be  comparatively  few  people  who  can  afford  to  buy 
a  hundred  books  each  year ;  but  there  might  easily  be  a  hundred 
persons  who  could  buy  one  book  each,  and  by  some  arrangement 
exchange  with  one  another,  so  that  each  could  in  the  course  of  a 
year  have  the  use  of  a  hundred  books.  Neighborhood  clubs 
are  sometimes  organized  to  subscribe  for  magazines  on  this 
plan.  A  public  library  is  a  cooperative  arrangement  by  which 
a  great  variety  of  good  reading  matter  is  made  available  to  the 
entire  community  at  trifling  cost  to  each  member.  In  fact, 
we  may  be  able  to  draw  books  from  the  library  without  any  cost 
to  ourselves ;  but  the  books  which  we  thus  enjoy  cost  the  com- 
munity a  large  sum  of  money,  and  our  free  enjoyment  of  them 
is  one  of  the  advantages  of  community  cooperation.  Our 
part  in  the  cooperation  is  in  using  the  books  carefully  and  in 
returning  them  promptly,  so  that  as  many  people  as  possible 
may  have  the  use  of  them. 

If  there  is  a  public  library  in  your  community,  what  benefits  do  you  get 
from  it?  About  how  many  books  do  you  draw  from  it  in  a  year?  What 
would  these  books  cost  you  if  you  bought  them?  What  do  they  cost  when 
you  draw  them  from  the  library? 

Usually  a  fine  is  imposed  for  keeping  a  book  from  the  library  beyond  a 
specified  time.     Show  why  this  is  proper. 

If  you  or  your  parents  are  members  of  a  church,  make  a  study  of  the 
various  ways  in  which  the  church  provides  for  cooperation,  and  the  purposes 
for  which  cooperation  is  sought. 

Show  how  the  community  cooperates  through  the  public  school  system. 

Make  a  list  of  all  the  organizations  of  business  and  professional  men  and 
women  known  to  you  in  your  city.     What  are  the  specific  purposes  of  each? 

Make  a  list  of  such  clubs,  associations,  or  societies  of  men  and  women  as 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE 


33 


A  Public  Library  is  a  Cooperative  Arrangement 


occur  to  you  in  your  city.     Write  the  purposes  of  each  opposite  its  name. 
To  how  many  of  these  do  members  of  your  family  belong  ? 

Write  the  six  great  wants  across  the  top  of  a  page,  as  suggested  in  topic  2 
on  page  7,  and  arrange  the  lists  of  organizations  suggested  in  the  last  two 
questions  in  the  proper  columns  according  to  the  wants  they  provide  for. 

Organization  for  cooperation  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
city  or  other  local  community.  People  with  common  purposes 
organize  for  cooperation  on  a  state-wide  or  nation-wide  scale. 
Following  is  a  list,  taken  from  a  city  telephone  directory,  show- 


34  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

ing  a  few  of  the  many  national  organizations  having  offices  in 
that  city.  This  hst  is  given  not  to  be  learned,  of  course,  but 
Nation-wide  merely  to  suggest  the  extent  and  variety  of  the 
cooperation  evidence  of  national  cooperation  to  be  found  in 
any  large  city. 

National  Association  of  Manufacturers. 

National  Board  of  Farm  Organizations. 

National  Civil  Service  Reform  League. 

National  Committee  on  Prisons  and  Prison  Labor. 

National  Congress  of  Mothers. 

National  Conservation  Association. 

National  Education  Association. 

National  Geographic  Society. 

The  National  Grange. 

National  League  of  Women  Voters. 

National  Merchant  Marine  Association. 

National  News  Service. 

National  Red  Cross. 

National  Voters'  League. 

American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 

American  Association  of  Engineers. 

American  Civic  Association. 

American  Federation  of  Labor. 

American  Forestry  Association. 

American  Recreation  League. 

In  spite  of  all  these  local  and  national  organizations,  coopera- 
tion is  far  from  complete  either  in  our  local  or  national  com- 
Coooeration      niunities.      Although    there    is   a    National   Con- 
imperfectly       servation  Association,  for  example,   a  very  small 
eve  ope  number  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  actually 

belong  to  it,  or  even  show  any  active  interest  in  the  conservation 
of  our  natural  resources  (see  page  210).  Under  the  stress  of  the 
great  war,  when  the  people  were  thoroughly  aroused  to  the 
great  issues  at  stake,  national  cooperation  was  secured  with 
remarkable  completeness.  But  when  the  perils  of  war  were  over, 
divergent  interests  began  to  reappear.  Employers  and  employ- 
ees are  really  engaged  in  the  same  enterprise  and  have  great 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  35 

interests  in  common.  But  these  are  too  often  overshadowed  by- 
certain  apparently  opposing  interests,  leading  to  conflict  where 
there  ought  to  be  the  closest  team  work.  In  any  city  the 
people  of  one  district  may  be  entirely  out  of  harmony  with 
those  of  another  district  to  the  great  disadvantage  of  both 
districts  and  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  Even  in  a  school  one  or 
more  of  the  "organizations"  among  the  pupils  may  become 
so  intent  upon  their  narrow  group  interests  as  to  obstruct  the 
broader  interests  of  the  whole  school. 

The  necessity  for  cooperation  in  the  performance  of  a  given 
service  is  not  limited  to  the  particular  group  held  responsible 
for  performing  the  service.  In  a  certain  school,  who  is 
just  before  a  football  game,  a  large  poster  was  responsible? 
displayed  which  read,  "  Do  Not  Hope  the  Team  Will  Win ;  Come 
Out  and  Help  It  Win !"  The  team  was  the  school's  team,  and 
its  success  depended  upon  the  support  given  it  by  the  entire 
school.  We  noticed  in  Chapter  II  how  the  service  given  by  the 
grocer  depends  in  large  measure  on  the  cooperation  he  receives 
from  his  customers  (page  19).  The  success  of  our  army  at  the 
front  during  the  war  depended  upon  the  national  morale,  and 
upon  the  support  given  it  by  every  home  and  shop  and  farm  in 
the  country.  A  street  railway  system  is  usually  pretty  well 
organized ;  but  no  matter  what  measures  it  takes  to  insure  serv- 
ice to  the  public,  it  cannot  be  completely  successful  without 
the  cooperation  of  the  public.  For  example,  the  service  afforded 
at  "rush  hours"  of  traffic  would  be  greatly  improved  if  pas- 
sengers would  but  observe  the  requests  of  the  management  to 
"move  forward"  and  to  "have  exact  fare  ready"  on  entering 
the  car.  Failure  to  cooperate  in  such  small  matters  delays  the 
transportation  service  of  an  entire  city. 

Compile  a  list  of  ways  in  which  the  public  may  contribute  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  transportation  service  of  the  city.  The  telephone  service. 
Other  forms  of  "public  service." 

Cooperation  is  very  largely  a  matter  of  habit ;  and  habits  can 


36  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

be  formed  only  by  practice.  Opportunity  to  practice  cooperation 
exists  not  only  in  the  school  and  on  the  playground,  nor 
C  "Deration  even  merely  in  the  neighborhood  or  city,  where 
a  matter  of  there  is  always  the  opportunity  to  cooperate  in 
^  '  the  interest  of  public  health,  public  safety,  and 

public  welfare  generally,  but  even  in  national  affairs.    The  war 


"Do  NOT  HOPE  We'll  Win;    Come  Out  and  HELP  Win  !" 

gave  us  a  wonderful  demonstration  of  the  ability  of  Young 
America  to  perform  service  that  counts  in  time  of  national  need. 
Young  citizens  of  school  age  contributed  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars  to  the  service  of  the  nation.  This  was  done  almost 
entirely  by  team  work  through  such  organizations  as  the  Junior 
Red  Cross,  the  Boy  and  Girl  Scouts,  the  School  Garden  Army, 
Thrift  Clubs,  and  the  like,  or  through  the  organization  of  the 
school.  The  value  of  all  this  was  not  so  much  in  the  actual  dollars 
raised  or  service  performed  as  in  the  experience  it  gave  in  organ- 
ized team  work  under  leadership.    Similar  cooperation  is  always 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE 


37 


possible  and  always  necessary  if  our  community  life  is  to  be  at 
all  successful. 

To  what  organizations  did  you  belong  for  war  service?  Do  these  organ- 
izations still  exist?  Are  they  as  active  as  during  the  war?  Have  they 
turned  to  a  "peace  program"?     Are  you  still  an  active  member? 


Cooperation  is  Needed  Here 

The  service  afiforded  at  rush  hours  would  be  greatly  improved  if  passengers  would 
observe  the  requests  of  the  management  to  "move  forward"  and  to  "have  exact 
fare  ready." 

Describe  the  Boy  Scouts,  or  the  Girl  Scouts,  as  an  organization  for  team 
work.     The  Junior  Red  Cross. 

Discuss  the  importance  of  leadership  in  school  activities.  What  are  the 
qualities  that  make  a  good  leader? 

Who  are  some  of  the  best-known  leaders  in  your  city,  both  men  and 
women?     In  what  fields  of  public  welfare  are  they  leaders? 

In  what  particular  projects  are  you  now  engaged,  along  with  others,  for 
the  benefit  of  your  school?     For  the  benefit  of  your  city? 


253244 


38 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Make  a  list  of  projects  in  which  you  and  others  of  your  age  might  effec- 
tively participate  for  the  benefit  of  your  community.  As  you  proceed 
with  your  study,  add  to  this  list. 

WTiat  existing  organizations  are  there  through  which  you  might  work  in 
carrying  out  these  projects? 

If  there  is  no  existing  organization  through  which  to  work  for  any  of  these 
projects,  plan  a  suitable  organization  to  fill  the  need.  Where  would  you 
look  for  suitable  leadership? 


Team  Work  in  a  Great  Cause 

'Every  one  who  creates  or  cultivates  a  garden  helps,  and  helps  greatly,  to  solve 

the  problem  of  the  feeding  of  the  nations."  —  Woodrow  Wilson. 


READINGS 

Civic  Training  through  Service,  Teachers'  Leaflet  No.  8,  United  States  Bureau  of 

Education. 
Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  i.  Some  fundamental  aspects  of  social  organization. 
Lesson  3,  The  cooperation  of  specialists  in  modern  society. 
Lesson  7,  Organization. 
Lesson  8,  The  rise  of  machine  industry 
Series  B  :  Lesson  4,  Feeding  a  city. 

Lesson  25,  Concentration  of  production  in  the  meat-packing  industry. 
Lesson  26,  Concentration  in  the  marketing  of  citrus  fruits. 
Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  ii,  iii,  viii,  xv,  xvi. 
Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap.  iii. 


COOPERATION  IN  COMMUNITY  LIFE  39 

Write  to  your  State  Agricultural  College  for  its  publications  relating  to 
the  growth  of  rural  cooperation. 

A  wide  range  of  material  relating  to  rural  cooperation  may  be  found  in 
the  publications  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Write  for 
material  on  this  subject.    The  following  titles  are  illustrative: 

Organization  of  Rural  Interests,  Year  Book  Separate  626. 

Organization  of  a  Rural  Community,  Year  Book  Separate  632. 

Farm  Bureau  Organization,  States  Relations  Service  Document  54. 

County  Organization,  States  Relations  Service  Document  65. 

Cooperative  Stores,  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  394. 

Cooperative  Purchasing  and  Marketing  Organizations,  Department  oi 
Agriculture  Bulletin  547. 

Organization  and  Results  of  Boys'  and  Girls'  Club  Work,  Department  of 
Agriculture  Circular  66. 

Watch  your  newspapers  and  the  magazines  for  illustrations  of  cooperation 
or  the  lack  of  it. 


CHAPTER   IV 

WHY  WE  HAVE   GOVERNMENT 

We  are  now  in  a  better  position  to  understand  why  we  have 
governrnent.     It  is  an  organization  to    secure    cooperation,  or 

team  work,  on  the  part  of  the  entire  community. 
»  ^f!!!^^"  When  a  schoolhouse  is  built,  there  is  cooperation 
to  secure  of  a  highly  organized  kind  in  the  production  and 

coopera  ion  assembling  of  the  materials  and  in  the  construction 
of  the  building  by  workmen  .of  different  kinds.  But  more  than 
this,  since  the  schoolhouse  is  a  public  building,  the  community 

cooperates  in  paying  for  it.  This  is  done  by  means 
In  education  ^^  laxes.  The  people  pay  taxes  also  to  meet  the 
cost  of  operating  the  school,  —  paying  the  teachers,  buying 
equipment,  and  heating  the  building. 

The  community  must  know  how  much  money  is  needed  to 
operate  the  school,  and  the  school  must  be  properly  managed 
to  perform  the  community's  work  of  education  effectively. 
In  small  communities  the  people  may  meet  together  to  vote 
the  taxes  and  to  decide  on  other  matters  relating  to  education, 
as  in  New  England  towns.  But  there  must  be  educational 
leadership,  and  there  must  be  an  organization  to  perform  the 
work  which  the  community  wants  done.  Every  community 
therefore  has  its  board  of  education,  or  school  committee,  its 
school  superintendent,  and  other  officials.  Such  organization 
corresponds  very  closely  to  the  board  of  directors  and  manager 
of  a  business  concern,  only  it  represents  the  entire  community 
and  attends  to  the  community's  business  of  education.  It  is 
part  of  the  community's  governing  machinery. 

40 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVERNMENT 


41 


Ascertain  from  your  father  how  much  school  tax  he  pays  each  year. 
If  he  does  not  know,  try  to  find  out  elsewhere.  Who  determines  the  amount 
of  this  tax?     To  whom  is  it  paid? 

Could  you  employ  a  teacher  at  home  for  the  amount  your  father  pays  as 
school  tax?  If  you  had  a  teacher  at  home,  could  you  get  as  good  an  educa- 
tion as  you  can  now  get  at  school?     Explain  your  answer. 

In  what  ways  do  you  cooperate  with  the  community  to  make  the  school 
a  success? 


UnORC.ANIZKI)     (."(xh'KRATlON 

"  When  a  building  in  a  rural  community  takes  fire,  the  neighbors  gather 
as  quickly  as  possible  to  fight  the  flames,  but  seldom  very  effectively." 


When  a  building  in  a  rural  community  takes  fire,  the  neighbors 
gather  as  quickly  as  possible  to  fight  the  flames  by  such  means 
as  may  be  at  hand,  but  seldom  very  efifectively.  in  fire 
In  a  small  city  or  town,  there  may  be  a  volunteer  protection 
fire  company  composed  of  men  who,  when  a  fire  breaks  out, 
leave  their  usual  occupations  to  save  the  property.  In  large 
cities,  fully  equipped  and  costly  fire  departments  are  main- 
tained, with  paid  firemen  who  are  always  on  duty.  The  police 
usually  keep  the  crowd  away  from  the  burning  building,  not 


42 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


only  for  their  own  safety,  but  because  they  would  hinder  rather 
than  help  the  trained  and  organized  firemen.  In  each  case  there 
is  cooperation  for  fire  protection;  the  greater  the  common 
danger,  the  more  perfect  the  organization  and  the  more  com- 
plete the  control  by  government. 


Organized  Cooperation 

"  In  cities  fully  equipped  and  costly  fire  departments  with  firemen  who  are  always 
on  duty.    The  police  usually  keep  the  crowd  away." 

In  Benjamin  Franklin's  time,  each  householder  in  Philadelphia, 
swept  the  pavement  in  front  of  his  home  if  he  wanted  it  kept 
In  health  dean.     Franklin,    who   was    a    splendid    example 

protection  of  good  citizenship  in  that  he  was  always  looking 
for  opportunities  to  improve  his  community,  tells  what  hap- 
pened : 

One  day  I  found  a  poor  industrious  man,  who  was  willing  to  undertake 
keeping  the  pavement  clean  by  sweeping  it  twice  a  week,  carrying  off  the  dirt 
from  before  all  the  neighbors'  doors,  for  the  sum  of  sixpence  per  month  to 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVERNMENT 


43 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 
Benjamin  Franklin 
"A  Splendid  Example  of  Good  Citizenship" 
Statue  by  Paul  Bartlett  in  front  of  Library,  Waterbury,  Conn, 


be  paid  by  each  house.  I  then  wrote  and  printed  a  paper  setting  forth  the 
advantages  to  the  neighborhood  that  might  be  obtained  by  this  small 
expense.  ...  I  sent  one  of  these  papers  to  each  house,  and  in  a  day  or  two 
went  around  to  see  who  would  subscribe  an  agreement  to  pay  these  six- 
pences; it  was  unanimously  signed,  and  for  a  time  well  executed.  This 
raised  a  general  desire  to  have  all  the  streets  paved,  and  made  the  people  more 
wilhng  to  submit  to  a  tax  for  that  purpose. 


44  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

This  was  community  cooperation  under  simple  conditions. 
A  hundred  years  later,  the  one  and  a  half  million  people  living 
in  Philadelphia  were  just  as  truly  cooperating  to  keep  their  city 
clean  by  means  of  more  than  1200  miles  of  sewers  for  which  they 
had  paid  nearly  35  millions  of  dollars,  and  by  means  of  a  depart- 
ment of  highways  and  street- cleaning  which  employed  a  con- 
tractor to  clean  the  streets  and  to  remove  all  ashes  and  garbage 
at  an  annual  cost  of  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  dollars. 
This  is  all  under  the  direction  of  the  city  government. 

What  is  true  of  our  local  boards  of  education,  fire  and  street- 
cleaning  departments,  and  other  departments  of  our  local 
In  state  governments,  is  also  true  of  state   and   national 

and  national  governments.  We  shall  not  stop  for  illustrations  of 
^  ^^^^  this  now,  because  they  will  be  numerous  in  later 

chapters.     (See,  for  example,  Chapter  XIX.) 

Is  there  a  government  in  your  home?  If  so,  prove  whether  or  not  it  is 
a  means  by  which  the  members  of  the  family  cooperate. 

Describe  the  government  of  your  school  and  show  how  it  secures  co- 
operation. 

From  a  copy  of  Benjamin  Franklin's  Autobiography,  find  further  instances 
in  which  he  improved  the  cooperation  of  his  community,  as  for  fire  protection 
and  street  lighting. 

Show  how  street  lights  represent  community  cooperation.  For  what 
purpose  is  this  form  of  cooperation?' 

Give  additional  illustrations  to  prove  that  government  in  your  community 
is  a  means  of  cooperation. 

In  what  ways  can  you  cooperate  with  the  school  board  of  your  com- 
munity, and  thus  with  the  community  itself,  for  better  schools? 

A  number  of  boys  whose  lives  were  spent  mostly  in  the  city 
streets  were  once  asked  what  the  word  "government"  sug- 
gested to  them.  Some  of  them  at  once  answered,  "The  police- 
man!"  and  when  they  were  asked,  "Why?"  they  replied,  "He 
arrests  people,"  "He  makes  us  keep  off  the  grass  in  the  parks," 
"He  drives  us  off  when  we  play  ball  in  vacant  lots."  These 
answers  represent  a  common  idea  about  government,  that  it  is 
something  over  us  to  restrict  our  freedom.     Government  does 


WHY  WE  ILWE  GOVERNMENT 


45 


restrict  the  freedom  of  individuals  at  times;  but  one  of  the 

best  illustrations  of  its  real  purpose  is  the  traffic  policeman  in 

cities.     He  stands  at  the  crossing  of  busy  streets,   ^ 

.  r  1  1  Government 

regulatmg   the  movement  of  people  and  vehicles  to  help 

in  such  a  way  as  to  insure  the  safety  of  all  and  *"*^  "°*  *° 

.  .  •'  repress 

to  keep  the  intersecting  streams  of  traffic  moving 

smoothly  and  with  as  little  interruption  as  possible.     Now  and 


Mounted  Traffic  Policeman  at  Work 

"If  now  and  then  he  arrests  a  driver,  it  is  because  the  latter  disregards 
the  rights  of  others." 


then  he  leaves  his  post  to  help  a  child  or  an  aged  person  or  a 
cripple  across  the  street ;  or  answers  the  inquiries  of  a  stranger. 
If  now  and  then  he  arrests  a  driver,  it  is  because  the  latter 
disregards  the  rights  or  welfare  of  others. 

There  may  be  no  traffic  policeman;  but  there  may  be  signs 
at  the  intersection  of  highways  to  guide  travelers,  or  warnings 
such  as  "  Dangerous  Curve  ! "  or  "  School :  Drive  Slowly ! "  Such 
signs  are  usually  posted  by  state  or  local  authorities  in  accord- 
ance with  law.     And  even  where  there  are  no  signs,  the  laws 


46 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


themselves  are  supposed  to  regulate  traffic.  Some  one  has  com- 
pared the  laws  in  our  country  to  the  signals  given  to  a  football 
Laws  as  team  by  the  quarterback.    These  signals  are  agreed 

signals  of  upon  in  advance  by  the  team,  and  tell  each  player 

coopera  ion  ^^^  ^^^^^  what  he  himself,  but  also  what  every  other 
player,  is  to  do,  and  thus  team  work  is  secured.      And  so  our 

laws  are  said  to  be 
"signals  of  coopera- 
tion," just  as  much 
as  the  sign  "Drive 
Slowly,"  or  as  when 
the  traffic  policeman 
holds  up  his  hand  or 
blows  his  whistle. 

Laws,  however,  are 
more  than  "signals" 
of  cooperation;  they 
are  also  rules  by  which 
cooperation  is  secured 
—  "  rules  of  the  game." 
Wherever  people  are 
dependent  upon  one 
another  and  work  to- 
gether there  must  be 
rules  of  conduct.  One 
kind  of  rules  consists 
of  what  we  call  "eti- 
quette" or  "good 
manners."  We  have  doubtless  all  observed  how  much  better  an 
athletic  contest  moves  along,  or  even  the  ordinary,sports  of  the 
Laws  as  playground,  where  good  manners  prevail.     "  Good 

rules  of  manners"   include    more   than   the    "party   man- 

thegame  ^^^^„    ^-^^^   ^^   ^^^   ^^  ^^^  ^^y^^  ofif  on  special 

occasions,  like  "party  clothes."    They  consist  of  the  accepted 


»™*,.^ 

^^JBT* 

g*"'^      ■  , 

i--^'  '^ 

^H     '  jB^ 

*<»* 

.  ' 

.  'iWfi& 

•^liPrN.^ 

"IIT^ 

P^lMl 

mm  ^ 

©  Un4erwood  and  Underwood 

'The  Signal  for  Cooperation  in  a 

City  Street" 

(TraflSc  Policeman) 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVERNMENT 


47 


rules  of  behavior  toward  those  with  whom  we  associate. 
In  the  home,  in  school,  in  business,  in  public  places,  there 
are  "good  manners"  that  are  recognized  by  custom  and 
that  make  the  wheels  move  smoothly  and  without  jar.  We  do 
not  need  a  law  or  a  policeman  to  require  a  man  to  give  way 
to  a  woman,  or  even  to  another  man,  in  passing  through  a 


"Rules  of  the  Game" 

The  pupils  of  this  school  cooperate  effectively  in  preventing 
accidents  on  this  corner. 

doorway ;  good  manners  provide  for  this.  Even  on  the  public 
street  much  confusion  is  avoided  by  an  observance  of  good 
manners,  or  custom.  Thoughtful  people  instinctively  turn  to 
the  right  in  passing  others  (in  England  and  Canada  the  custom 
is  to  turn  to  the  left)  without  thinking  whether  there  is  a  law 
on  the  subject  or  not. 

Now  most  of  our  laws  that  regulate  the  conduct  of  indi- 
viduals are  simply  rules  that  experience  has  proved  to  be  of 
the  greatest  advantage  to  the  greatest  number,  and  that  are 
necessary   because   some   people   have   not    "good    manners." 


48  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Most  people  observe  them,  not  because  they  are  laws,  but 
because  they  are  reasonable  and  helpful  in  avoiding  friction 
Law  gives  '  and  in  securing  cooperation.  If  they  are  good  laws, 
freedom  [^  jg  Qj-^jy  j-j^g  "ill-mannered"  who  are  really  con- 

scious of  their  existence.  Just  laws  restrict  the  freedom  only 
of  the  "ill-mannered,"  while  they  give  freedom  to  those  who 
have  "good  manners." 

What  street  or  highway  signs  are  there  in  your  community?  Who 
placed  them?     Are  they  faithfully  observed?     If  not,  why? 

What  signals  are  there  in  your  school?     Discuss  their  usefulness. 

What  are  some  of  the  "rules"  of  your  school?  Are  they  good  rules? 
Why?  Are  they  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  yourself?  If  they  did 
not  exist,  would  your  own  conduct  be  different?     Why? 

What  are  some  of  the  rules  of  good  manners  that  are  supposed  to  control 
conduct  in  your  school?  in  your  home?  in  the  street?  Discuss  their 
reasonableness.     Do  they  enlarge  or  restrict  freedom? 

Do  the  rules  of  football,  or  other  games,  increase  or  decrease  the  freedom 
of  play? 

What  are  some  of  the  laws  that  control  conduct  in  your  community? 
Would  most  people  observe  the  laws  you  mention  even  if  they  were  no 
written  laws,  and  if  there  were  no  penalty  for  failing  to  observe  them? 
Why? 

The  following  story  illustrates  the  difference  between  law 
and  custom,  or  "manners,"  and  how  the  former  may  develop 
The  origin  out  of  the  latter.^  There  was  once  a  boys'  school 
of  law  located  in  an  8oo-acre  tract  of  land,  in  the  fields  and 

woods  of  which  the  boys,  when  free  from  their  studies,  gathered 
nuts,  trapped  small  animals,  and  otherwise  lived  much  like 
primitive  hunters. 

Just  after  midnight  some  morning  early  in  October,  when  the  first  frosts 
of  the  season  loosened  the  grasp  of  the  nuts  upon  the  limbs,  parties  of  two 
or  three  boys  might  be  seen  rushing  at  full  speed  over  the  wet  fields.     When 

1  "Rudimentary  Society  among  Boys,"  by  John  Johnson,  in  Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  vol.  ii  (1884).  The  story  as 
Bare  given  is  reproduced  from  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life,  Series  C, 
p.  14s,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  (Lesson  C-18,  "Cooperation  through  Law,"  by 
Arthur  W.  Dunn). 


WHY  WE  HAVE  CiOVERNMENT  49 

the  swiftest  party  reached  a  walnut  tree,  one  of  the  number  climbed  up 
rapidly,  shook  olT  half  a  bushel  of  nuts  and  scrambled  down  again.  Then 
off  the  boys  went  to  the  next  tree,  where  the  process  was  repeated  unless 
the  tree  was  occupied  by  other  boys  doing  likewise.  Nut  hunters  coming 
to  the  tree  after  the  first  party  had  been  there,  and  wishing  to  shake  the 
tree  some  more,  were  required  by  custom  to  pile  up  all  the  nuts  that  lay 
under  the  tree.  Until  this  was  done,  the  unwritten  law  did  not  permit 
their  shaking  any  more  nuts  on  the  ground. 

So  far  this  was  a  custom  accepted  by  the  boys  because  of  its 
reasonableness.  But  after  a  while,  some  members  of  this  boy 
community  thought  to  get  ahead  of  the  other  members.  One 
night  before  frost  came  they  secretly  went  to  the  woods  and 
took  possession  of  most  of  the  nut  trees  by  shaking  them  ac- 
cording to  custom.  When  this  was  discovered,  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  community  called  a  meeting  of  all  the  boys.  After 
discussing  the  matter  thoroughly,  they  provided  against  a 
repetition  of  the  trick  by  making  a  rule  (passing  a  law)  that 
thereafter  the  harvesting  of  nuts  should  not  begin  before  a  fixed 
date  in  October. 

These  boys  acted  very  much  as  men  have  often  acted  under 
simple  conditions  of  community  life.  The  New  England  "  town 
meeting,"  for  example,  is  precisely  the  same  thing  as  the  boys' 
meeting. 

We  shall  study  the  organization  and  methods  of  law-making 
in  later  chapters.     At  present  we  are  merely   noting  why  we 
have  laws,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  supposed  The  second 
to  be  made,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  people   element  in 
themselves.     And  right  here  we  see   the  second  control  by  * 
thing  necessary  to  make  a  democracy.     On  page  *^®  people 
9    we    saw    that    in    a    democracy    all    people    have    certain 
equal    and  "unalienable"  rights,   and    that    that    community 
is    most   democratic    that    affords    its    members    most  nearly 
equal  opportunity  to  enjoy  these  rights.     Now  we  see  further 
that  in  a  democracy  the  people  make  their  own  laws.     More- 
over, the  laws  of  a  democracy  control,  not  only  the  conduct  of 


50  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  people,  but  also  the  government  itself.  The  government  of 
a  democracy  may  do  oftly  those  things,  and  use  only  those 
methods,  for  which  the  people  give  the  authority.  It  is  only 
when  government  exercises  power  without  control  by  the  people 
that  it  becomes  autocratic. 

The  purpose  of  our  government  is  clearly  stated  in  two 
historic  documents.  One  of  these  is  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
Two  historic  pendence,  which  has  already  been  quoted  in  Chap- 
documents  ^gj.  J  'p}-^g  same  quotation  is  given  here  with  an 
additional  sentence  in  italics : 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal, 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights, 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to 
secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  .  .  . 

The  second  great  document  is  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  preamble  to  which  reads : 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility,  provide  for  the  common 
defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  our  government  and  our  laws 
are  perfect.  They  cannot  be  perfect  as  long  as  they  are  made 
Democracy  a  ^^^  operated  by  imperfect  people.  It  is  possible, 
goal  still  to  for  example,  that  the  boys  of  the  city  (p.  44)  had 
e  reac  e  ^  j^^^  complaint  against  the  government  for  not 
permitting  them  to  play  ball  in  vacant  lots,  unless  the  com- 
munity at  the  same  time  provided  them  with  another  suitable 
place  for  the  game  —  for  every  community  should  protect  the 
right  of  its  boys  and  girls  to  play.  We  are  far  from  having 
attained  complete  democracy.  It  is  a  goal  toward  which 
men  are  struggling,  and  have  been  struggling  for  centuries 
—  since  long  before  our  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  other 
countries  as  well  as  in  our  own.     The  great  World  War  which 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVERNMENT 


51 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^L^  ..-'^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

i 

^■^^^t'l 

IP^^^^M^ 

' 

l''l 

#1  '^~"^"^» 

f  '                           f^m 

1 

fti  ^' 

^ 

M 

l^  ■ 

»*-     -j — ■= — - — 1 

^^Sf^ 

Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 

Thomas  Jefferson 

Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
Statue  at  the  University  of  Virginia.     By  Karl  Bitter 

began  in  1914,  and  which  the  United  States  entered  in  191 7, 
was  a  war  to  establish  more  firmly  in  the  world  the  principles 
of  democratic  government.  Whether  these  principles  shall  be 
carried  out  in  practice,  and  whether  our  governments  —  local, 
state,  and  national  —  shall  fulfill  the  purposes  so  clearly  stated 


52  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution,  depends  upon  the  extent 
to  which  each  citizen  understands  these  purposes,  and  cooper- 
ates with  his  fellow-citizens  and  with  his  government  in  support 
of  them. 

It  is  said  that  in  one  of  the  training  camps  during  the  war 
The  "  right  an  ofhcer  addressed  a  squad  of  new  recruits  as 
idea  of  it "        follows : 

Boys,  I  want  you  to  get  the  right  idea  of  the  salute.  I  do  not  want  you 
to  think  that  you  are  being  compelled  to  salute  me  as  an  individual.  No ! 
When  you  salute  me,  you  are  simply  rendering  respect  to  the  power  I  repre- 
sent; and  the  power  I  represent  is  you.  Now  let  me  explain.  You  elect 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States 
grants  me  a  commission  to  represent  his  authority  in  this  army.  His  only 
authority  is  the  authority  that  you  vest  in  him  when  you  elect  him  President. 
Now,  when  you  salute  an  officer,  you  salute  not  the  man,  but  the  representa- 
tive of  your  own  authority.  The  salute  is  going  to  be  rigidly  enforced  in 
this  army,  and  I  want  you  boys  to  get  the  right  idea  of  it.  I  want  you  to 
know  what  you  salute  and  why. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  should  "get  the  right  idea"  of 
what  our  government  is.  It  is  very  much  the  idea  that  the 
officer  gave  his  soldiers  about  the  salute.  It  is  the  idea  con- 
tained in  this  chapter :  that  government  is  our  own  organiza- 
tion for  team  work  in  community  life.  All  through  this  book 
we  shall  be  engaged  in  discovering  how  far  this  is  true. 

Do  you  know  of  instances  in  which  the  national  government  has  helped 
to  secure  cooperation  among  business  men  of  your  city? 

Discuss  the  post  office  as  a  means  of  cooperation. 

During  the  war  with  Germany  the  United  States  government  assumed 
control  of  all  the  railroads  of  the  country.  Show  how  this  was  to  secure 
better  cooperation. 

Is  the  government  of  your  school  democratic?  Explain  your  answer. 
Do  you  think  it  should  be  made  more  democratic?     Why? 

Compare  the  purposes  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  with 
the  common  purposes  stated  on  pages  2-6  of  Chapter  I. 

Show  how  the  pupil  who  does  as  he  pleases  in  school  may  interfere  with 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  other  pupils.  Is  it  right  that  his  liberty  should 
then  be  restricted?  Why?  Is  liberty  the  right  to  do  as  one  pleases? 
If  not,  what  is  it? 


WHY  WE  HAVE  GOVJERNMENT  53 

Read  together  in  class  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  and  carefully 
discuss  the  meaning  of  each  phrase. 

Just  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  last  sentence  of  the  paragraph  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  quoted  on  page  50? 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and^Nalional  Life: 

Series  B :  Lesson  17,  The  development  of  a  system  of  laws. 

Series  C:  Lesson  17,  Custom  as  a  basis  for  law. 
Lesson  18,  Cooperation  through  law. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Lincoln,  "Mob  Law,"  pp.  175-177. 

Lincoln,  "Back  to  the  Declaration,"  pp.  179-181. 

McKinley,  "Liberty  is  Responsibility,  Not  License,"  pp.  254-255. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence,  pp.  67-71. 
Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  Citizenship,  chap   i  ("The  Nature  of  Modern  Govern- 
ment"). 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  Autobiography. 


CHAPTER  V 
WHAT  IS   CITIZENSHIP? 

Before  we  go  further,  let  us  get  a  definite  idea  of  what  it 
means  to  be  a  citizen. 

We  have  frequently  referred  to  the  fact  that  we  are  "mem- 
bers" of  communities.  There  are  two  important  facts  about  a 
What  mem-  "  member  "  which  will  help  us  to  understand  citizen- 
bership  ship.     Our  bodies  have  members ;  the  tongue  has 

™**°^  been  called  an  "unruly"  member,  "a  Httle  member 

and  boasteth  great  things."  ^  Now,  one  important  fact  about 
a  member  of  the  body  is  that  it  gets  its  life  from  the  body.  The 
hand,  for  example,  quickly  ceases  to  be  a  hand  if  it  is  cut  off, 
because  it  is  severed  from  the  source  of  life;  and 
if  the  body  is  seriously  ill,  the  hand  and  the  other 
members  are  unable  to  perform  their  proper  work. 

The  second  important  fact  about  a  member  is  that  it  is  essential 
to  the  life  of  the  body.  If  the  hand  is  cut  off,  or  an  eye  put 
out,  the  body  does  not  necessarily  die,  but  it  is  seriously  handi- 
capped. If  a  member  is  paralyzed  or  diseased  it  may  be  a 
positive  hindrance  to  the  body,  and  the  disease  may  spread  to 
other  members.  The  body  may  sufifer  merely  because  its 
members  are  poorly  trained. 

This,  then,  is  what  membership  in  the  body  means.  Member- 
ship in  a  family,  or  in  a  class,  or  in  a  school,  or  in  a  club,  or  in  a 
In  the  community,  means  just  the  same  thing.     The  two 

community  facts  mentioned  above  are  as  true  in  the  one 
case  as  in  the  other, 

1  James  iii :   5. 
54 


WHAT  IS  CITIZENSHIP  ? 


55 


Explain  how  the  idea  of  membership  as  applied  to  the  body  applies  to 
your  membership  in  the  family;  to  membership  in  a  club;  in  a  church; 
in  a  business  establishment. 

Can  you  be  a  member  of  your  class  or  school  without  doing  it  either  good 
or  harm?     Explain  your  answer. 

Read  Romans  xii :  4-8  and  James  iii :  5-8. 

Show  how  an  injury  or  a  benefit  to  one  pupil  in  the  school  may  be  an 
injury  or  a  benetit  to  the  entire  school.     Give  illustrations  to  prove  this. 


CiTizKxs  IN  Training 

"/  pledge  allegiance  to  my  Flag  and  to  the  Republic  for  which  it  stands,  one  nation, 

indivisible,  with  liberty  and  justice  for  all." 

Show  how  this  idea  of  membership  corresponds  with  the  idea  of  inter- 
dependence as  discussed  in  Chapter  II. 

We  have  already  seen,  and  we  shall  see  more  clearly  as  we  go 
on  with  our  study,  how  completely  we  are  dependent  upon  our 
communities  for  the  wants  of  life.  The  community  that  does 
not  provide  for  its  members  in  these  things  is  like  a  sick  body. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  members  of  a  community  we  are  always 
contributing  something  to  its  life  —  either  to  its  advantage  or 


56  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

disadvantage.     Of  course,  each  of  us  is  only  one  of  a  great  many 

members  in  a  large  community,  and  we  may  seem  to  be  very 

unimportant.     But  each  performs  his  part,  whether  it  be  great 

or  small,  and  whether  he  does  it  well  or  poorly. 

Now  we  often  speak  of  members  of  a  community  as  citizens 

of  that  community.     Citizenship  means  practically  the  same 

thing  as  membership  in   the   community.     As  a 
Citizenship  »  .      ^  •  i  n   r        • 

means  good  community  IS  one  that  provides  well  for  its 

membership      niembers,  SO  the  good  citizen  is  the  member  who 

does  well  his  part  in  the  life  of  the  community.     A  bad  citizen 

is  the  member  who  hinders  the  progress  of  the    community 

when  he  might  be  helping. 

There  are  citizens  who  are  like  the  diseased  or  paralyzed  hand, 

or  like  the  hand  that  is  untrained.     A  member  of  an  athletic 

^    .     .      .      team    who    does    not    "train"    will   probably    be 

Trained  and 

untrained  dropped  from  the  team  —  he  fails  to  become  an 

citizens  athlete.     But  a  member  of   a  community,   or  a 

citizen,  who  does  not  "train"  still  remains  a  member,  but  an 
inefficient  one.  He  is  a  handicap  to  his  community  and  inter- 
feres with  community  team  work.  The  part  that  a  member 
plays  in  community  life  may  be  more  important  than  he  realizes. 
Even  in  small  things,  "the  falling  short  of  one  may  mean 
disaster  to  many."  Each  member  of  a  community,  like  each 
member  of  a  body,  must  be  not  only  in  a  healthy  condition  but 
also  well  trained. 

The  most  important  element  in  good  citizenship,  or  in 
patriotism,  is  the  spirit  of  service,  — service  for  the  common 
The  spirit  good.  Patriotism  usually  suggests  a  willingness 
of  service  ^q  giye  life,  or  to  make  other  great  sacrifice,  for  the 
country's  good.  It  does  involve  this  at  times.  But  it  is  equally 
true  that  even  our  normal,  everyday,  community  life  is  based  on  an 
exchange  of  services,  just  as  the  hand  serves  the  eye,  and  the  eye 
serves  the  hand,  and  both  together  serve  the  entire  body  and 
all  its  other  members.     Even  earning  a  living  means  earning 


WHAT  IS  CITIZENSHIP? 


57 


the  services  of  other  people  by  the  performance  of  services  for 
them  (see  Chapter  XVI).  The  patriotic  citizen  is  one  whose 
conduct  at  all  times  is  controlled  by  the  thought  of  the  service 
he  may  render  rather  than  by  the  thought  of  selfish  advantage. 
At  the  same  time,  we  need  to  be  "infected  with  wisdom  to 


An  Exchange  of  Service 

know  that  in  making  smooth  the  way  of  all  lies  the  road  to  our 
own  health  and  happiness."  ^ 

Citizenship   involves  certain  rights  and   certain  duties.     We 
might  give  a  long  list  of  the  duties  of  the  citizen.     Among  other 
things  we  might  say  that  it  is  his  duty  to  obey  the  j^jgjjtg  ^nd 
laws,  and  to  defend  his  country  in  time  of  peril.     It   duties  of 
is  a  citizen's  duty  to  vote  (when  he  has  the  right  to  "  '^®°^  '^ 
do  so),  to  pay  taxes,  to  hold  office,  and  to  serve  on  the  jury  when 
called  upon  to  do  so.     But  the  whole  matter  may  be  summed  up 

1  John  Galsworthy,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1920. 


58  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

in  the  statement  that  the  citizen's  duty  is  always  to  render  the 
full  measure  of  service  that  his  membership  in  the  community 
demands  at  any  given  time. 

We  may  say,  also,  that  a  citizen  has  duties  because  he  has 
rights.  That  is,  it  is  his  duty  to  serve  because  he  is  served. 
A  citizen's  rights  are  classified  under  two  heads : 
^  civil  rights  and  political  rights,  or  private  rights  and 

public  rights.  Under  the  head  of  civil  or  private  rights  are  in- 
cluded the  right  to  security  of  the  person ;  the  right  to  freedom 
of  religious  belief  and  worship ;  the  right  to  freedom  of  speech ; 
the  right  to  assemble  freely ;  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  fair 
trial  when  brought  before  a  court  on  charges  of  any  kind ;  and 
the  right  to  security  in  his  own  property.  These  rights  are 
guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  by  the 
constitutions  of  the  several  states,  and  are  summed  up  in  the 
phrase  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  They  are 
embraced  in  the  list  of  rights,  purposes,  or  wants,  described  in 
Chapter  I. 

Political  rights,  on  the  other  hand,  are  rights  given  to  the 
citizen  by  the  community  under  certain  conditions.  Such  are 
Political  the  right  to  vote  and  the  right  to  hold  office.     These 

rights  rights  (and  duties)  will  be  discussed  later  in  our 

course,  but  they  are  rights  not  possessed  by  all  citizens. 

Citizenship  is  acquired  in  two  ways  which  are  specified  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  (Amendment  XIV,  Section 
H  'tizen-  •"■)  *  "^^^  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
ship  is  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof"  (that 

acquire  j^^  subject  to  its  laws)  "are  citizens  of  the  United 

States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside."  "  Naturalization  " 
is  the  legal  process  by  which  persons  of  foreign  birth  renounce 
their  allegiance  to  the  land  of  their  birth  and  pledge  allegiance 
to  our  government.  Until  they  do  this  such  persons,  even 
though  living  in  our  country,  are  still  considered  as  "members" 
of  the  country  from  which  they  came,  and  therefore  as  owing 


WHAT  IS  CITIZENSmP? 


59 


certain  duties  to  that  country  which  would  be  inconsistent  with 
their  duties  as  members  of  our  nation.  Therefore  they  are 
denied  certain  political  rights,  such  as  voting  and  holding  office,' 
until  they  have  been  naturalized.  Our  country  is,  however, 
very  generous  to  aliens  (persons  of  foreign  birth  who  have  not 


Aliens  Applying  for  Naturalization 


been  naturalized),  so  that  they  are  permitted  to  enjoy  almost  all 
the  civil  rights  of  native-born  Americans.  This  fact  imposes 
upon  such  persons  an  obligation,  not  merely  to  respect  our  laws, 
but  also  to  conduct  themselves  with  full  regard  for  the  interests 
of  our  nation,  in  all  respects  as  if  they  were  citizens.  They  are 
like  guests  in  our  home,  of  whom  we  should  think  very  poorly 
if  they  abused  the  hospitality  freely  bestowed  upon  them. 

1  In  a  few  states  even  unnaturalized  persons  are  permitted  to  vote  after  they  have 
"declared  their  intention"  of  becoming  citizens. 


6o 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Let  us  note  particularly,  however,  that  ^^  all  persons  born  in 
the  United  States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof  are 
Present  citizens."     Native-born  citizens  are  denied  political 

citizenship         rights  until  they  reach  maturity.     But  they  can- 
not be  denied  their  citizenship.     Young  citizens  need  to  keep  in 


Adult  Foreigners  Preparing  for  American  Citizenship 
Note  the  Service  Flag  of  this  class 


mind  the  fact  of  their  present  citizenship  —  a  fact  that  is  too  often 
overlooked.  Civic  education  is  not  merely  training  for  citizen- 
ship sometime  in  the  future,  but  training  in  citizenship  now. 

Make  a  list  of  things  you  have  done  during  the  week  for  the  benefit  of 
your  school;  for  the  welfare  of  your  neighborhood,  or  city.  Do  you  do  as 
much  for  your  family,  school,  or  community  as  they  do  for  you? 

Turn  to  Amendment  XIV  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
(page  488),  and  read  the  entire  first  section  containing  the  definition  of  a 
citizen.     Discuss  the  meaning  of  the  section. 

At  what  age  does  the  native-born  citizen  acquire  the  right  to  vote?  Why 
is  he  not  allowed  to  vote  before  that  time? 


WHAT  IS  CITIZENSHIP? 


6l 


What  native-born  citizens  of  the  United  States  do  not  have  the  right  to 
vote  even  after  they  are  of  voting  age? 

Look  up  the  procedure  of  naturalization  (see  Readings  below). 

What  is  the  reason  for  the  provision  that  a  foreigner  must  have  lived  in 
this  country  for  at  least  five  years  before  he  may  receive  his  final  natural- 
ization papers? 


Committee  on  Safety  in  Session 

"Civic  education  is  not  merely  training /or  citizenship,  but  training 
in  citizenship  now." 


READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Doane,  "The  Men  to  Make  a  State,"  pp.  236-238. 

Lane,  "Makers  of  the  Flag,"  pp.  314-316. 

Steiner,  "On  Becoming  an  American  Citizen,"  pp.  317-320. 

Wilson,  "To  Newly-Made  Citizens,"  pp.  322-326. 

Tufts,  James  H.,  T/w  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  xi,  xii. 

Write  to  the  Bureau  of  Naturalization,  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor,  for  publi- 
cations relating  to  Naturalization. 


CHAPTER  VI  • 

WHAT   IS    OUR   COMMUNITY? 

We  have  frequently  referred  to  "our  community."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  each  of  us  is  a  member  of  a  number  of  communi- 
„.         .  ties.     Every  community  consists,  of  course,  of  a 

that  make  group  of  people  occupying  a  more  or  less  definite 
a  community  locality.  Much  depends,  in  community  life,  upon 
the  number  and  character  of  the  people  and  the  extent  and 
nature  of  the  locality  they  occupy.  But  the  essential  thing 
about  a  community  is  that  the  people  who  comprise  it  are 
working  together  (cooperating)  under  an  organization  (govern- 
ment) for  the  common  good  (common  purposes). 

The  community  may  be  a  city,  with  a  large  population  in 
proportion  to  the  area  occupied.  It  may  be  a  community 
L  and  ^^  which  a  relatively  small  population  is  distrib- 
smaii  com-  uted  Over  an  extensive  territory.  Each  state  in 
mumties  ^^^  Union  is  a  community,  and  so  is  the  nation 

itself,  because  each  is  composed  of  a  group  of  people  (very  large 
in  these  cases),  occupying  a  definite  territory  (also  large),  and 
having  a  government  through  which  the  people  are  working  for 
common  ends.  We  even  speak  of  a  "world  community," 
although  it  is,  as  yet,  very  imperfect  (see  Chapter  VIII).  It  is 
clear  that  each  of  us  is  a  member,  not  only  of  our  city  community, 
but  also  of  state,  national,  and  world  communities.  It  is 
clear,  also,  that  the  larger  communities  are  made  up  of  many 
smaller  communities. 

Does  your  class  have  the  characteristics  of  a  community?  Your  school? 
Note  how  the  class  communities  are  combined  into  the  larger  school  com- 
munity.    Compi..re  with  the  union  of  our  states  in  the  nation. 

62 


64  '  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Does  your  home  have  the  characteristics  of  a  community?  Explain  in 
detail. 

What  are  some  of  the  things  in  which  your  family  and  your  nearest 
neighbors  have  a  common  interest  because  of  living  close  together?  What 
does  the  "neighborhood"  lack  to  make  it  a  complete  "community"? 

How  smaller  communities  are  merged  into  larger  ones  rpay  be 
illustrated  by  the  case  of  New  York  City.     That  city  is  com- 
posed of  five   "boroughs"  —  Manhattan,   Bronx, 
munities  Brooklyn,  Queens,  and  Richmond.     Each  of  these 

merge  into        has  a  government  for  certain  local  purposes,  but  all 

larger  ones  •      i         i  •      i  r        i      ^-  ,- 

are  united  under  a  single  government  for  the  City  of 

Greater  New  York.     Moreover,  New  York  City  has  adjoining 

it  a  number  of  other  cities,  such  as  Newark,  N.J.,  and  Yonkers, 

N.Y.,  all  of  which    have    their   own  governments,  but  which 

taken  together  constitute  a  "  metropolitan  area"  which  possesses 

many,  at  least,  of  the  characteristics  of  a  community.     A  large 

part  of  the  population  whose  business  interests  are  in  New  York 

City  lives  in  these  adjacent  "suburbs." 

Detroit,  Michigan,  afifords  another  striking  example.  This 
city  has  grown  with  great  rapidity  in  the  last  few  years,  and  in 
1920  its  population  of  nearly  a  million  has  entirely  surrounded 
that  of  two  other  cities  (Highland  Park  and  Hamtramck). 
While  these  two  communities  still  have  independent  govern- 
ments, they  are  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  part  of  Detroit, 
and  will  sooner  or  later,  in  all  probability,  be  merged  with  it 
under  one  government. 

Every  large  city  has  its  "suburbs."  Sometimes  these  are 
purely  residential,  their  residents  having  their  business  interests 
Suburban  in  the  city.     Sometimes  they  are  industrial  centers 

communities  with  very  few  homes  except  those  of  employees  of 
the  factories.  In  some  cases  they  are  within  the  city  limits, 
while  in  other  cases  they  are  outside  and  independently  governed. 
But  while  a  suburb  may  be  a  community  in  itself,  with  interests 
of  its  own,  it  is  also  bound  to  the  city  by  certain  common 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY?  65 

interests,  and  as  city  and  suburbs  grow,  the  tendency  is  for  the 
latter  to  be  absorbed  by  the  former  under  a  single  government. 

With  the  help  of  a  map  of  your  city,  study  the  location  of  its  "suburbs," 
naming  each. 

Which,  if  any,  of  these  suburbs  have  their  own  governments,  and  which 
come  under  the  government  of  the  city? 

Find  out  whether  any  parts  of  your  city,  now  under  the  city  government, 
once  had  independent  governments.  If  so,  what  reasons  led  to  their  in- 
corporation in  the  city? 

If  there  has  recently  been  a  proposal  to  extend  the  limits  of  your  city  to 
include  hitherto  independent  suburbs,  what  arguments  were  made  for  and 
against  the  proposal? 

If  you  live  in  a  community  adjacent  to  a  city,  but  independent  of  its 
government,  debate  the  question,  "Resolved,  that  our  community  (naming 
it)  should  be  incorporated  in  the  city  of  .  .  .  (naming  the  adjacent  city)." 

To  what  extent,  if  any,  has  the  increase  in  the  population  of  your  city  in 
recent  years  been  due  to  the  extension  of  the  city  limits  to  include  adjacent 
suburbs?     On  a  map  of  the  city  show  the  old  and  new  city  limits. 

What  is  the  population  of  your  city  (census  of  1920)  ?  Compare  with  the 
population  of  1910  and  1900. 

If  a  city  business  man  has  his  home  in  a  suburban  community,  what  are 
some  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  that  community  in  which  he 
would  have  a  special  interest?  What  are  some  of  the  things  pertaining  to 
the  welfare  of  the  entire  city  in  which  he  would  be  interested? 

In  the  case  of  such  a  suburban  family,  which  would  be  likely  to  have  the 
keenest  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  suburb,  the  father  or  the  mother  ?  Why  ? 
Where  would  the  chief  interests  of  the  children  be,  in  the  suburb  or  in  the 
city  as  a  whole?     Why? 

If  some  of  the  children  of  the  suburban  home  go  to  school  in  the  city, 
in  what  things  would  they  have  an  interest  in  common  with  the  residents  of 
the  city? 

If  you  live  in  a  suburban  community,  make  a  list  of  things  in  which  it  is 
especially  interested.  Also  make  a  list  of  things  in  which  your  suburban 
community  is  interested  in  common  with  the  people  of  other  suburbs. 

If  we  le^ve  our  city  by  railroad  or  automobile,  we  soon  find ' 
ourselves  passing  through  other,  smaller  communities  —  first, 
suburban   communities,   then   rural    communities,   with    much 
open  country,  and  an  occasional  village  or  small  town.     Such 
communities  seem  to  be  no  part  of  the  city  which  we  have  left 


66 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


behind,  and  to  a  large  extent  they  do  have  interests  pecuhar 
to  themselves,  centering  largely  around  farming  activities  and 
a  social  life  quite  different  from  that  of  the  city 
folk.  But  in  many  ways  the  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  with  its  numerous  rural  com- 
munities and  small  towns,  are  bound  together  into 
a  single  community  with  large  common  interests 
City  resident  and  farmer  alike  are  members  of 


Interde- 
pendence 
of  city 
and  rural 
communities 


and  purposes. 


Public  Farmers'  Market 
City  residents  and  farmers  alike  are  members  of  tliis  community 


this  community,  and  neither  can  afford  to  forget  his  dependence 
upon,  and  his  interest  in,  the  other. 

In  the  early  days  of  western  settlement  a  community  was 
founded  in  Illinois.  It  was  an  agricultural  community,  but  in 
the  midst  of  it  a  village  grew,  which  in  the  course  of  time  became 
a  small  city.     One  of  the  first  settlers  was  a  young  farmer  with 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY?  67 

a  mechanical  turn  of  mind.  He  began  experimenting  to  im- 
prove the  methods  of  planting  grain.  The  result  was  the  in- 
vention of  a  corn  planter,  the  manufacture  of  which  became  one 
of  the  chief  industries  of  the  growing  city,  employing  hundreds  of 
men  and  sending  machines  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Another 
young  farmer  invented  a  better  plow  than  those  which  had  been 
in  use,  the  manufacture  of  which  became  another  of  the  city's 
industries.  In  those  pioneer  days  each  family  usually  made  its 
own  brooms,  but  one  young  man  in  this  community  earned  his 
way  through  the  local  college  by  making  brooms  from  corn 
raised  on  the  college  farm.  The  college  cornfield  disappeared 
in  the  course  of  time,  but  on  one  part  of  it  there  grew  up  a  broom 
factory  employing  a  large  number  of  workmen.  These  city 
industries  were  thus  literally  "children  of  the  soil,"  and  the 
city's  prosperity  depended  upon  the  agriculture  of  the  surround- 
ing region.  On  the  other  hand,  the  city  provided  the  farmers 
with  improved  plows  and  corn  planters,  furnished  them  an 
immediate  market  for  their  products,  supplied  them  with  goods 
through  its  shops  and  stores,  and  gave  education  to  hundreds 
of  farmers'  children  in  its  schools  and  college.  It  is  now  a  city 
of  25,000  population,  but  it  is  still  the  heart  of  the  surrounding 
agricultural  region,  receiving  from  and  giving  to  the  life  of  the 
larger  community  so  created. 

A  study  of  the  accompanying  map  of  Dane  County,  Wisconsin, 
will  help  to  emphasize  this  idea.     The  most  conspicuous  thing 
in  the  map  is  the  heavy  black  lines  which  divide  j^^^^^  ^^ 
the  county  into  irregular  areas.     These  are  "trade  Wis.,  an 
areas,"  in  each  of  which  is  a  "trading  center,"  ^""stration 
consisting  of  a  village  or  small  town.     Each  of  these  "trade 
areas"    is    an    incompletely    developed    "rural    community," 
with  a  village  or  town  community  at  its  center.     If  the  "  trading 
center "  is  also  a  center  of  education,  recreation,  social  and 
religious  life  for  the  area,  as  is  likely  to  be  the  case,  the  "rural 
community"  is  more  completely  developed. 


68 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  irregular  boundary  lines  of  the  trade  areas 
"cut  across"  the  regular  "township"  boundary  lines,  which  the  map  also 
shows,  and  even  across  the  county  lines.  Township  and  county  are  govern- 
mental districts  (see  Chapter  XXV)  which  were  fixed  before  population  was 
very  great,  and  do  not  always  coincide  with  the  areas  of  population  which  rep- 
resent the  closest  common  interests.  That  is,  a  farmer's  family,  represented 
by  one  of  the  small  dots  on  the  map,  is  bound  by  ties  of  government  to  all 
the  other  people  in  his  township,  while  his  real  interests,  such  as  in  trade, 


The  City  of  Madison  and  Dane  County,  Wisconsin 

education  for  his  children,  social  life,  etc.,  may  bind  him  to  people  who  live  in 
other  townships,  while  they  fail  to  bind  him  closely  to  all  the  people  in  his 
own  township.  This  merely  illustrates  the  imperfections  still  to  be  found  in 
our  community  life  (see  page  2).  Where  townships  have  natural  boundaries, 
they  are  hkely  to  be  more  nearly  complete  communities. 

In  the  center  of  Dane  County  is  the  city  of  Madison  with  a 
population  of  nearly  40,000.  It  also  is  a  "trading  center"  in  a 
"trade  area."    Moreover,  it  is  the  county  seat  of  Dane  County, 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY? 


69 


and  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  An  examination  of 
the  map  will  show  roads  and  railroads  centering  in  the  city 
from  all  parts  of  the  county  and  state. 

Thus  even  a  large  city  may  have  decided  rural  interests  and 
be  part  of  a  larger  community  that  is  distinctly  rural  in  its 
foundations.     A  business  man  of  Memphis,  Tenn.   Th    "  M 
(pop.  162,000),  said,  " Memphis  cannot  build  a  wall  phis  Terri- 
around  herself  and  live  for  thirty  days,"  so  inti-    °^^ 
mately  is  the  life  of  the  city  interwoven  with  the  life  of  the 
surrounding  region,  known  as  the  "Memphis  Territory." 


Wichita  Falls,  Texas 
This  city  grew  from  a  population  of  8500  in  1910  to  a  population  of  45,000  in  1920 


It  too  often  happens  that  the  interdependence  between  urban 
and  rural  communities,  and  the  resulting  community  of  in- 
terests between  them,  are  overlooked  both  by  urban   -.  .,       . 

'  _  _  -^  Failure  to  see 

and  rural  citizens.      Sometimes  jealousies  and  an-   common 
tagonisms  arise  to  the    injury    of   all    concerned.  *'***''^^*s 

How  much  better  is  a  situation  like  that  said  to  exist  in  Chris- 
tian County,  Ky.     This  county  is  almost  wholly  agricultural, 


yo  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

but  the  county  seat  is  a  small  city  of  10,000  population.  A  busi- 
ness men's  association  was  organized  in  the  city,  which  inter- 
A     se   f  ested  itself  in  bettering  the  agricultural  conditions 

county  of  the  county,  because  the  business  of  the  city  was 

cooperation  ^^^^  dependent  upon  the  neighboring  agriculture. 
A  "crop  improvement  association"  was  formed,  including 
farmers  in  its  membership.  Local  community  clubs  were  organ- 
ized in  different  parts  of  the  county,  which  held  meetings 
attended  by  the  farmers  and  their  families,  and  by  business  men 
from  the  city.  A  good  roads  association  was  organized,  and  a 
"good  roads  day"  was  held  on  which 

business  men  turned  out  with  the  farmers,  stores  of  the  city  were  closed,  and 
on  one  of  the  principal  roads  at  least  90  per  cent  of  the  workmen  were  city 
men.  Stone  was  contributed  by  contractors,  concrete  firms  furnished  men 
gratis  to  repair  bridges,  one  company  supplied  outfits  for  trimming  trees 
and  a  large  amount  of  work  was  done  by  the  county  and  town  working  side 
by  side.  .  .  .  Such  results  could  only  be  accomplished  through  unity  of 
purpose  and  cooperation  of  all  the  people. 

It  is  said  of  this  county  that  "the  town  and  the  county  are  one. 
The  result  is  better  agriculture,  better  business,  and  better 
living." 

On  a  map  roughly  outline  the  area  of  which  your  city  is  a  "trade  center." 
Does  this  require  a  map  of  your  county,  of  your  state,  or  of  a  larger  region? 

For  what  area  is  New  York  City  a  trade  center?  Chicago?  New 
Orleans?     San  Francisco?     London? 

Mention  some  of  the  ways  in  which  your  city  is  dependent  upon  nearby 
rural  communities.  Also  some  ways  in  which  these  rural  communities  are 
dependent  upon  your  city. 

To  what  extent  is  there  team  work  between  your  city  and  neighboring 
rural  communities  or  smaller  cities?  Is  there  any  noticeable  lack  of  such 
team  work?     If  so,  what  are  the  causes? 

What  industries  in  your  city  are  dependent  upon  the  surrounding  region 
for  their  raw  material?     For  the  sale  of  their  products? 

Has  farm  land  in  your  vicinity  increased  or  decreased  in  value  since  your 
father  was  a  boy?  Has  there  been  any  considerable  increase  or  decrease 
since  you  can  remember?  Can  you  show  a  relation  between  this  change 
in  value  of  farm  land  and  the  growth  of  your  city? 


72  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  is  the  cotton  gin?  The  spinning  jenny?  Show  how  these  inven- 
tions were  a  benefit  to  agriculture.  How  did  they  promote  the  growth  of 
cities? 

As  cities  and  towns  and  rural  communities  are  welded  together 
into  a  community  we  call  the  county,  so  all  those  of  a  number  of 
State  com-  counties  constitute  a  state  community  of  which 
munities  esLch  of  US  is  a  member.     As  parts  of  the  larger 

state  community,  all  of  the  smaller  local  communities,  whether 
urban  or  rural,  are  closely  dependent  upon  one  another,  and 
require  organized  cooperation  through  a  state  government.  The 
state  is  the  most  completely  self-governing  of  all  the  communi- 
ties of  which  we  are  members,  as  will  be  explained  in  another 
chapter  (XXVII).  The  people  of  a  state  have  strong  common 
interests,  and  as  a  rule  feel  a  pride  in  their  state,  and  a  loyalty 
to  it,  that  lie  deeper  than  their  pride  in,  or  their  loyalty  to,  any 
of  the  smaller  communities  of  which  they  are  members.  And 
yet,  no  state  can  be  in  a  thriving  condition  unless  the  cities  and 
rural  communities,  the  counties  and  townships,  which  comprise 
it  are  also  thriving  and  wholesome  in  every  particular.  The 
fact  is  sometimes  overlooked  that  the  first  and  most  effective 
way  in  which  to  show  loyalty  to  the  state  is  to  take  pride  in,  and 
be  loyal  to,  the  smaller  communities  which  comprise  it  and  of 
which  all  citizens  of  the  state  are  members.  Much  of  the 
service  that  the  state  performs  for  its  citizens,  and  much  of  that 
which  they  perform  for  the  state,  is  performed  through  the 
organization  of  the  local  communities,  as  will  be  explained  more 
fully  in  another  place. 

What  are  some  of  the  interests  common  to  all  the  people  of  your  state 
for  which  they  need  to  cooperate? 

Have  you  noticed  that  the  people  in  your  community  have  a  strong 
"state  pride"?     If  so,  what  are  the  things  of  which  they  are  proud? 

Discuss  the  statement  in  the  last  paragraph  that  "the  most  effective  way 
in  which  to  show  loyalty  to  the  state  is  to  be  loyal  to  the  smaller  community" 
of  which  you  are  a  member. 

If  there  is  a  very  large  city  in  your  state,  show  its  importance  to\he  whole 
state.     Show  its  dependence  upon  the  whole  state. 


WHAT  IS  OUR  COMMUNITY?  73 

Can  a  state  extend  its  boundaries  as  a  city  can?     Why? 

What  is  the  capital  of  your  state?    What  does  "capital"  mean? 

The  forty-eight  states  of  our  Union,  together   with  Alaska 
and  our  insular  territories  and  dependencies,  constitute  our  great 
national  community.     So  important  is  it  for  us  to    Our  national 
recognize    the   community   characteristics   of   our   community 
nation  that  the  entire  next  chapter  is  devoted  to  its  consideration. 

The  problems  of  community  life  presented  by  the  city  we  live 
in  are  not  merely  local  problems,  but  of  national  importance. 
The   city   population   of   the   United   States   has  The  city 
increased  with  great  rapidity  in  the  last  few  years,   presents 
The  number  of  cities  with  a  population  of  more  of  national 
than  10,000  has  increased  from  328  in  1900  to  759  concern 
in  1920,  while  the  population  of  such  cities  about  doubled  in  the 
same  period.    In  1920,  there  were  68  cities  of  more  than  100,000 
population,  as  compared  with  44  in  1910  and  34  in  1900;   and 
in  such  cities  lived  approximately  one  fourth  of  the  population 
of  the  United  States  in  1920.    The  aggregation  of  so  large  a  part 
of  our  total  population  in  cities  has  created  problems  of  health, 
of  education,  of  industry,  of  transportation,  of  every  phase  of 
life,  that  affect  the  entire  nation. 

Moreover,  the  growth  of  city  population  has  brought  new 
problems  to  the  rural  portions  of  the  nation.  A  considerable 
part  of  the  increase  in  city  population  has  come  from  the  rural 
districts.  While  the  rural  population  has  increased  also,  the 
city  population  has  increased  more  rapidly.  One  result  of  this 
is  that  not  only  are  there  more  people  in  the  cities  for  whom  food 
must  be  produced  in  the  country,  but  there  are  also  relatively 
fewer  food  producers  to  do  the  work.  In  many  other  ways, 
some  of  which  we  shall  note  from  time  to  time,  the  growth  of 
cities  affects  the  life  of  rural  America. 

What  proportion  of  the  population  of  your  state  lives  in  cities  ot  10,000 
or  more?  How  many  such  cities  are  there  in  your  state?  What  has  been 
the  increase  in  the  number  and  population  of  such  cities  in  your  state  since 
1900? 


74  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

In  the  Literary  Digest  of  September  i8,  1920,  there  is  an  article  under  the 
title  "Doubtful  Good  of  our  City  Growth."  From  what  is  said  in  the  para- 
graphs above,  to  what  may  this  article  refer?     If  possible,  read  the  article. 

If  your  city  has  grown  rapidly  during  the  last  few  years,  in  what  ways 
has  this  growth  made  life  more  difficult?  Can  you  see  ways  in  which  the  new 
problems  arising  from  this  growth  might  affect  the  nation? 

READINGS 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chaps,  i-iii. 

Galpin,  C.  J.,  "The  Social  Anatomy  of  an  Agricultural  Community,"  Research 

Bulletin  34,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison, 

Wis. 
Gillette,  John  M.,  Constructive  Rural  Sociology  (Sturgis  &  Walton  Co.,  New  York), 

chap,  iv  ("Types  of  Communities"). 
Small  and  Vincent,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society  (American  Book  Co.), 

Book  II,  chaps,  i-iv. 
Wilcox,   D.   F.,  The  American  City  (Macmillan),  chap.  i. 
Beard,  Chas.  F.,  American  City  Government  (Century  Co.),  chap.  i. 
United  States  Census  Reports,  1920. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OUR  NATIONAL   COMMUNITY 

It  is  important  to  get  the  habit  of  thinking  of  our  nation  as 
a  community,  just  as-  we  think  of  our  school  or  town  or  city 
as  one.     This  is  not  always  easy  to  do  because  of  imperfections 
its  huge  size  and  compHcated  character.     It  would  of  our 
be  wrong,  too,  to  get  the  idea  that  it  is  a  perfect   community 
community  —  none  of  our  communities  is  perfect. 
Conflicts  of  interest  are  often  more  apparent  than  community 
of  interest.     Team  work  among  the  different  parts  and  groups 
that  make  up  our  nation  is  often  very  poor.     Although  our 
government  is  a  wonderfully  good  one,  it  is  still  only  an  im- 
perfect means  of  cooperation.     Our  nation  is  far  from  being  a 
complete  democracy,  for  there  are  many  people  in  it  who  do 
not  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness;    and  large  numbers  of  our  "self-governing"  people 
really  have  little  or  no  part  in  government. 

It  need  not  give  us  an  unpatriotic  feeling  to  acknowledge  the 
imperfections  of  our  nation  or  of  our  government;  for  com- 
munities grow,  not  only  in  size,  but  also  in  ability  Loyalty 
to  perform  their  proper  work,  just  as  individuals  *°  ideals 
do.  We  call  a  person  conceited  who  thinks  that  he  is  perfect, 
especially  if  he  boasts  of  it.  But  his  conceit  is  itself  an  imper- 
fection and  a  hindrance  to  growth.  So  the  patriotic  citizen  is 
not  one  who  is  unable  to  see  defects  in  his  community,  or  who 
refuses  to  acknowledge  them,  but  one  who  has  high  civic  ideals 
and  is  loyal  to  them,  who  understands  in  what  respects  these 
ideals  have  not  been  reached,  and  who,  as  a  member  of  the 

75 


76  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

community  (see  page  54) ,  contributes  everything  he  can  to  keep 
it  growing  in  the  right  direction. 

"The  problem  of  government  is  after  all  the  problem  of  human  growth. 
.  .  .  The  one  constant  and  inconstant  quantity  with  which  man  must 
deal  is  man  —  changing,  inert,  impulsive,  limited,  sympathetic,  selfish, 
aspiring  man.     His  institutions,  whether  social  or  political,  must  come  out 


A  View  of  Our  National  Capital 

of  his  wants  and  out  of  his  capacities.  Luther  Burbank  has  not  yet  made 
grapes  to  grow  on  thorns  or  figs  on  thistles.  Neither  has  any  system  of 
government  made  all  men  wise.  ..."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  community  to  be  100  per  cent  perfect?     Why? 

What  people  in  your  community  have  no  part  in  government? 

May  people  who  cannot  vote  have  any  influence  upon  government? 
Explain. 

Has  a  good  citizen  a  right  to  criticize  his  government?  What  is  the 
difference  between  helpful  and  harmful  criticism? 

What  is  an  "ideal"?     a  "civic  ideal"? 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


77 


The  war  with  Germany  made  it  somewhat  easier  to  think  of 
our  nation  as  a  community,  because   it  served  to  arouse  our 
"national   spirit,"   and  showed  very   clearly   the  weiding  of 
importance  in  our  national  life  of  those  elements  the  nation 
which  characterize  all  community  life  —  common     ^  ^^ 
purpose,    interdependence,    and    organized    cooperation    (see 
Chapters  I-III).     The  creation  of  a  National  Army  did  much 
to  bring  this  about. 


Immigrants  from  Other  Lands 
Landing  at  Ellis  Island,  New  York  Harbor 


When  the  benefits  which  come  to  the  nation  through  the  creation  of  the 
national  army  are  catalogued,  the  fact  that  it  has  welded  the  country  into  a 
homogeneous  society ,i  seeking  the  same  national  ends  and  animated  by  the 
same  national  ideals,  will  overtop  all  other  advantages.  The  organization 
of  the  selected  Army  fuses  the  thousand  separate  elements  making  up  the 
United  States  into  one  steelhard  mass.  Men  of  the  North,  South,  East, 
and  West  meet  and  mingle,  and  on  the  anvil  of  war  become  citizens  worthy 
of  the  liberty  won  by  the  first  American  armies." 

1  "Homogeneous  society"  —  a  society  or  community  all  of  whose  parts  and 
members  have  like  purposes  and  interests. 

*  Major  Granville  R.  Fortesque,  in  National  Geographic  Magazine,  Dec,  191 7. 


78  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

How  this  welding  of  the  parts  of  the  nation  together  was  promoted 
by  the  war  is  suggested  by  the  words  of  an  old  Confederate 
soldier  who  wrote  to  a  friend  in  the  North : 

"During  the  war  between  the  states  I  was  a  rebel,  and  continued  one 
in  heart  until  this  great  war.  But  now  I  am  a  devoted  follower  of  Uncle 
Sam  and  endorse  him  in  every  respect." 

The  fact  that  our  nation  contained  in  its  population  large 

numbers  of  people  from  practically  every  country  of  Europe 

^.  caused   no   little   anxiety    when    we   entered    the 

Divers*  ■' 

elements  in  European  war.  Our  population  embraces  a  hun- 
our  nation  ^^^^  different  races  and  nationalities.  Of  these 
ten  million  are  negroes  and  three  hundred  thirty-six  thousand 
Indians.  Thirty-three  million  are  of  foreign  parentage,  and  of 
these  thirteen  million  are  foreign-born.  Five  milUon  do  not 
speak  English,  and  there  are  fifteen  hundred  newspapers  in 
the  United  States  printed  in  foreign  languages.  Five  and 
one  half  million  above  the  age  of  ten  years,  including  both 
foreign  and  native,  cannot  read  nor  write  in  any  language. 
New  York  City  has  a  larger  Hebrew  population  than  any  other 
city  in  the  world,  contains  more  Italians  than  Rome,  and  its 
German  population  is  the  fourth  largest  among  the  cities  of 
the  world.  Pittsburgh  has  more  Serbs  than  the  capital  of 
Serbia.  It  is  said  that  there  were  more  Greeks  subject  to  draft 
in  the  American  army  than  there  were  in  the  entire  army  of 
Greece.  Would  all  these  people  be  loyal  to  our  nation,  or  would 
they  divide  it  against  itself? 

The  war  in  fact  showed  us  that  there  were  some  among  us 
who  had  never  really  become  "members"  of  our  nation   (see 
f         page  54) ,  and  who  were  dangerous  to  our  peace  and 
diverse  safety.     It  also  showed  us  the  danger  that  comes 

elements  {xqxcs.  the  presence  of  so  many  illiterates,  or  of  those 

who  cannot  use  the  English  language ;  for  such  people,  even 
though  loyal  in  spirit  to  the  United  States,  cannot  understand 
instructions  either  in  the  army  or  in  industry,  and  otherwise 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  79 

prevent  eflfective  cooperation.  And  yet  the  most  striking  thing 
that  the  war  showed  us  in  regard  to  this  mixed  population  is 
that  the  great  mass  of  it,  regardless  of  color  or  place  of  birth, 
is  really  American  in  spirit  and  loyal  to  our  flag  and  the  ideas 
which  it  represents. 


FORTY-FOLTR    NATIONALITIES  —  AlL   AMERICANS 

Another  weakness  within  our  nation  that  the  war  empha- 
sized is  the  lack  of  harmony  between  wage  earners  and  their 
employers.     There    were    many    sharp     conflicts 
between  them.     Strikes  occurred,  or  were  threat-   safety 
ened,  in  factories,  shipyards,  mines,  and  railroads,   depends  on 
that  blocked  the  wheels  of  industry  at  a  time     "™°°y 
when  the  nation  needed  to  strain  every  nerve  to  provide  the 
materials  of  war.     This  lack  of  harmony  between  workmen  and 
employers,  which  in  war  threatened  our  national    safety,  has 
existed  for  many  years  and  has  always  been  an  obstacle  to 
national  progress.     But  the  common  purpose  of  winning  the 
war  caused  employers  and  wage  earners,  in  most  cases,   to 


8o  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

adjust  their  differences.  In  nearly  every  case  one  side  or  the 
other,  or  both  sides,  yielded  certain  points  and  agreed  not  to 
dispute  over  others,  at  least  for  the  period  of  the  war.  The 
national  government  did  much  to  bring  this  about  by  the 
creation  of  labor  adjustment  boards  to  hear  complaints  from 
either  side  and  to  settle  disputes.  If  our  national  community 
life  is  to  develop  in  a  wholesome  way,  complete  cooperation 
between  workmen  and  employers  must  be  secured  and  made 
permanent  on  the  basis  of  interests  that  are  common  to  both. 

Such  facts  as  these  show  how  easy  it  is,  in  a  huge,  complex 
community  like  our  nation,  for  conflicts  to  arise  among  different 
The  eff  ct  of  sections  and  groups  of  the  population ;  and  how 
a  common  difficult  it  is  always  to  see  the  common  interests 
purpose  ^j^^^  exist.     But  they  also  show  how  such  conflicts 

tend  to  disappear  when  a  situation  arises  which  forces  us  to 
think  of  the  common  interests  instead  of  the  differences.  All 
else  was  forgotten  in  the  common  purpose  to  "win  the  war." 
No  sacrifice  was  too  great  on  the  part  of  any  individual  in 
order  that  this  national  purpose  might  be  served.  Everywhere 
throughout  the  country,  in  cities  and  in  remote  rural  districts, 
service  flags  in  the  windows  testified  that  the  homes  of  the 
land  were  offering  members  that  the  nation  and  its  ideals  might 
live.  Men,  women,  and  even  children  contributed  their  work 
and  their  savings  and  denied  themselves  customary  comforts 
to  help  win  the  war.  The  entire  nation  was  working  together 
for  a  common  purpose. 

We  have  said  that  this  common  purpose  was  to  "win  the 
war."  But  there  were  purposes  that  lie  much  deeper  than 
Our  national  this,  without  which  it  would  not  have  been  worth 
purpose  while  to  enter  the  war  at  all.     As  we  saw  in  Chap- 

ter I,  our  nation  is  founded  on  a  belief  in  the  right  of  every 
one  to  life  and  physical  well-being ;  to  be  secure  in  one's  rightful 
possessions;  to  freedom  of  thought  —  education,  free  speech,  a 
free  press;    to  freedom  of  religion;  to  happiness  in  pleasant 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


8l 


surroundings  and  a  wholesome  social  life;  and,  above  all, 
to  a  voice  in  the  government  which  exists  to  protect  these 
rights.  It  was  to  secure  a  larger  freedom  to  enjoy  these  rights, 
"for  ourselves  first  and  for  all  others  in  their  time,"  that  our 
nation  was  solidly  united  against  the  enemy  that  threatened  it 
from  without.  But  it  was  with  this  same  purpose  that  the 
War  of  Independence  was  fought,  that  our  Constitution  was 


Endeavoring  to  Adjust  Industrial  Differences 

The  members  of  the  Second  Industrial  Conference  called  after  the 

war  by  President  Wilson 

adopted,  that  slavery  was  abolished,  that  millions  of  people 
from  foreign  lands  have  come  to  our  shores.  It  is  this  common 
purpose  that  makes  the  great  mass  of  foreigners  in  our  country 
Americans,  ready  to  fight  for  America,  if  necessary  even  against 
the  land  of  their  birth.  It  is  this  for  which  the  American  flag 
stands  at  all  times,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war. 

What  proof  can  you  give  of  a  "national  spirit"  in  your  locality  during  the 
war? 


82  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  evidence  can  you  give  to  show  that  this  national  spirit  is  or  is  not 
as  strong  since  the  war  closed? 

What  was  the  "National  Army"?  the  "National  Guard"?  Which  of 
these  organizations  was  most  likely  to  develop  a  "national  spirit"?  Why? 
What  good  reasons  can  you  give  for  the  action  of  the  government  in  con- 
solidating the  Regular  Army,  the  National  Army,  and  the  National  Guard 
into  a  "United  States  Army"? 

What  arguments  can  you  give  in  favor  of  requiring  all  instruction  in  the 
public  schools  to  be  given  in  the  English  language  ? 

What  arguments  can  you  give  in  favor  of  teaching  lessons  in  citizenship 
in  foreign-language  newspapers? 

What  foreign  nationalities  are  represented  in  your  locality? 

Make  a  blackboard  table  showing  the  nationality  of  the  parents  and 
grandparents  of  each  member  of  your  class. 

Show  how  the  Spanish-American  war  was  fought  for  the  same  purpose 
as  that  mentioned  on  page  8i. 

Write  a  brief  theme  on  "What  the  Flag  Means  to  Me." 

The  attempt  to  work  together  in  the  war  made  it  very  ap- 
parent how  dependent  the  nation  is  upon  all  its  parts,  and  how 
jj    .      J  dependent  each  part  is  upon  all  the  others.     It  was 

interde-  often  said  that  "the  farmers  would  win  the  war." 

pendence  ^^  other  times  it  was  said  to  be  ships,  or  fuel,  or 

airplanes,  or  railroad  transportation,  or  trained  scientists  and 
technical  workers.  The  truth  is,  of  course,  that  all  these  things 
and  many  more  were  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  no  one  of 
them  would  have  been  of  much  value  without  all  the  others. 

It  is  true  that  the  winning  of  the  war  depended  upon  the 
farmers,  because  they  are  the  producers  of  the  food  and  of  the 
raw  materials  for  textiles  without  which  the  nation  and  every 
group  and  person  in  it  would  have  been  helpless.  But  the 
farmer  could  not  supply  food  to  the  nation  without  machinery 
for  its  production,  and  without  city  markets  and  railroads 
and  ships  for  its  distribution.  Machinery  could  not  be  made, 
nor  ships  and  locomotives  built,  without  steel.  For  the  manu- 
facture of  steel  there  must  be  iron  and  fuel  and  tungsten  and 
other  materials.     And  for  all  these    things  there  must  be  in- 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


83 


ventors  and  skilled  mechanics,  and  to  produce  these  there  must 
be  schools.  And  so  we  could  go  on  indefinitely  to  show  how  the 
war  made  us  feel  our  interdependence.  What  we  need  to 
understand,  however,  is  that  this  interdependence  is  characteristic 
of  our  national  life  at  all  times;  the  war  only  made  us  feel  it  more 
keenly. 


A  Part  of  Our  New  Merchant  Fleet 

During   the  war,  strange    as    it  may  seem,  while  we  were 
devoting   our   national   energies    to    the    work   of   destruction 
incident  to  war,  we  as  a  nation  made  astonishing  w  *•    _ 
progress  in  many  ways  other  than  in  the  art  of  building  in 
war  —  in    what    we    might    call    nation-building.   ^^"^  *'™® 
In  some  ways  we  made  progress  in  a  year  or  two  that  under 
ordinary  circumstances  might  have  required  a  generation.     A 
striking  illustration  of  this  is  in  the  development  of  a  great 
fleet  of  merchant  ships  at  a  rate  that  would  have  been  impos- 
sible before  the  war.     Beginning  with  almost  nothing  when  the 
war  began,  we  had,  in  less  than  two  years,  a  merchant  fleet 
larger  than  that  of  any  other  nation,  and  that  in  spite  of  the 


84  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

constant  destruction  of  ships  by  the  enemy.  The  chairman  of 
the  shipping  board  of  the  United  States  government  said  that 
this  was  because  the  necessities  of  the  war  made  the  whole  nation 
see  how  much  it  depends  upon  ships,  and  caused  not  only  ship- 
builders, but  also  engineers  and  manufacturers  and  business  men 
and  the  navy  department  of  the  government,  and  many  others, 
to  concentrate  upon  this  problem,  with  the  result  that  we  dis- 
covered methods  of  shipbuilding,  and  of  loading  and  unload- 
ing and  operating  ships  when  they  were  built,  that  will  probably 
enable  us  to  maintain  permanently  a  merchant  marine,  the 
lack  of  which  we  have  deplored  for  many  years. 

In  a  similar  way  we  discovered  and  brought  into  use  valuable 
natural  resources  of  whose  existence  we  had  largely  been  igno- 
rant and  for  which  we  had  been  dependent  upon  other  nations. 
We  made  astonishing  progress  in  scientific  knowledge,  and 
especially  in  the  application  of  this  knowledge  to  invention 
and  to  industrial  enterprises.  We  developed  a  new  interest 
in  agriculture,  and  learned  the  food  values  of  many  products 
that  had  formerly  been  neglected.  We  were  led  to  attack  seri- 
ously the  great  problem  of  suitable  housing  for  workmen,  and 
had  an  important  lesson  in  the  relation  between  wholesome  home- 
life  and  industrial  efficiency  (see  Chapter  IX,  pages  1 16-120). 
Foundations  were  laid  for  the  adjustment  of  the  unfortunate 
differences  that  have  long  existed  between  workmen  and  their 
employers.  The  war  suggested  changes  in  our  educational 
methods,  some  of  which  will  doubtless  become  effective,  to  the 
great  improvement  of  our  public  schools,  colleges,  and  technical 
schools. 

We  shall  study  some  of  these  things  more  fully  in  later  chap- 
ters. They  are  mentioned  now  to  illustrate  how  our  national 
progress  was  stimulated  when  the  war  forced  us  to  see  the  relation 
of  all  these  things  to  one  another  and  to  the  accomplishment  of  our 
national  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  failure  to  recognize  this 
national  interdependence  means  slow  progress  as  a  national 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  85 

community.  When  the  war  began,  our  nation  was  said  to  be 
"unprepared."  In  so  far  as  this  was  true  —  and  it  was  true  in 
many  particulars  — it  was  because  in  the  times  of  peace  before 
the  war  we  had  not  thought  enough  about  the  dependence  of 
our  national  strength  and  safety  upon  all  these  factors  in  our 
national  life  working  together.  And  so,  in  the  times  of  peace 
after  the  war,  if  the  purposes  for  which  our  nation  fought  are 


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to  be  fulfilled,  we  must  continue  to  profit  by  this  lesson  which 
the  war  has  taught  us. 

Recall  your  discussion  of  national  interdependence  in  connection  with 
your  study  of  Chapter  II. 

Report  on  some  of  the  important  scientific  and  commercial  developments 
resulting  from  the  war;   as,  for  example, 

The  development  of  the  cdmmercial  use  of  the  airplane 
The  development  of  new  food  supplies 
The  production  of  fertilizer  from  the  nitrogen  of  the  air 
The  development  of  new  industries  in  the  United  States 
Changes  in  methods  of  farming 
What  are  some  changes  in  education  that  are  likely  to  result  from  the 
war?    Are  any  of  these  taking  place  now? 


86  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Show  how  the  strike  of  coal  miners  in  1919,  era  later  strike,  affected  the 
life  of  the  nation. 

The  "working  together"  of  all  these  interdependent  parts 

The  is  the  important   thing.     "The  supreme   test    of 

"supreme         ^^^   nation    has    come,"    said    President    Wilson. 

test"  of  the 

nation  "We  must  all  speak,  act,  and   serve  together.    ^ 

It  is  not  an  army  that  we  must  shape  and  train  for  war  ...  it  is  a 
Nation.  To  this  end  our  people  must  draw  close  in  one  compact  front 
against  a  common  foe.  But  this  cannot  be  if  each  man  pursues  a  private 
purpose.  The  Nation  needs  all  men,  but  it  needs  each  man,  not  in  the  field 
that  will  most  pleasure  him,  but  in  the  endeavor  that  will  best  serve  the 
common  good.  .  .  .  The  whole  Nation  must  be  a  team,  in  which  each  man 
must  play  the  part  for  which  he  is  best  fitted.'^ 

We  had  some  suggestion  on  page  80  of  how  such  national 
team  work  became  a  fact.  "Do  your  bit!"  was  the  watch- 
The  nation  word.  It  was  splendid  to  see  how  personal  in- 
as  a  team  terests  gave  way  before  the  desire  to  serve  the 
nation.  It  is  a  thrilling  story  how  the  racial  elements  in  our 
population  forgot  their  differences  of  race  and  language  and 
remembered  only  that  they  were  American;  how  employers 
and  employees  laid  aside  their  differences ;  how  farmers  and 
business  men,  manufacturers  and  mechanics,  miners  and  woods- 
men, inventors  and  teachers,  women  in  the  home  and  chil- 
dren in  the  schools,  doctors  and  nurses,  and  every  other  class 
and  group  subordinated  their  personal  interests  to  the  one 
national  purpose  of  winning  the  war  in  order  that  "the  world 
might  become  a  decent  place  in  which  to  live." 

As  soon  as  the  United  States  entered  the  war  Washington, 
the  nation's  capital,  became  filled  with  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  who  wanted  to  help  in  some  way.  Some  were 
called  there  by  the  government ;  others  came  to  volunteer  their 
services  and  to  offer  ideas  that  they  thought  useful.  Many 
came   as  representatives  of   organizations  —  business  and  in- 

1  Message  to  the  American  People,  April  15,  1917. 
-  Conscription  Proclamation,  May  18,  1917. 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY 


87 


dustrial  organizations,  scientific  associations,  civic  societies. 
New  committees  and  associations  were  formed,  until  the  num- 
ber of  voluntary  citizen  organizations  eager  to  do  "war  work" 
became  almost  too  numerous  to  remember.  They  were  all  an 
indication  of  the  desire  of  the  people  to  do  their  part  in  the 
national  enterprise. 


The  Council  of  National  Defense 

Those  seated  are  the  Cabinet  members  of  the  Council.  They  are  from  left  to 
right,  Secretaries  Houston  (Agriculture),  Daniels  (Navy),  Baker  .(War),  Lane 
(Interior),  and  Wilson  (Labor). 

But  there  followed  a  period  of  confusion.     All  these  organ- 
izations and  the  people  which  they  represented  wanted  to  help, 
but  they  did  not  always  know  just  what  to  do  nor  confusion 
how  to  do  it.     Each  organization  had  its  own  ideas  without 
which  it  often  magnified  above  all  others.     Differ-  organization 
ent  organizations  wanted  to  accomplish  the  same  purpose,  but 
wanted  to  do  it  in  different  ways.     Often  they  duplicated  one 


88  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

another's  efforts.  A  war  could  not  be  won  under  such  condi- 
tions. But  out  of  all  this  confusion  there  finally  developed 
order,  and  this  was  because  the  various  organizations  of  people 
realized  that  if  they  were  to  accomphsh  anything  they  must 
work  in  cooperation  with  the  national  government,  whose 
business  it  was,  after  all,  to  organize  the  nation  for  united  action. 
In  fact,  it  was  for  this  reason  that  they  came  to  Washington. 
Many  of  them  sought  to  influence  the  government  to  adopt  this 
or  that  plan,  and  sometimes  succeeded ;  but  it  was  the  govern- 
ment that  finally  decided  what  plans  were  to  be  adopted,  and  all 
of  the  effort  of  the  numerous  organizations  and  of  individuals 
must  be  brought  into  harmony  with  these. 

The  period  of  the  war  afforded  many  striking  examples  of 
national  cooperation  secured  by  the  government.     It  may  have 

seemed  sometimes  that  our  government  interfered 
National  ,    ^        ,  i  i  .       ^ 

team  work        with  personal  freedom  to  an  unreasonable  extent, 

through  g^g  when  it  limited  the  amount  of  coal  we  could 

government  .  ,  ■  ^         ^  •      j 

buy,  fixed  the  prices  of  many  articles,  determined 

the  wages  that  should  be  paid  for  labor,  took  over  the  manage- 
ment of  the  railroads  and  of  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines, 
and  did  many  other  things  that  it  never  had  done  in  time  of 
peace.  We  expected  government  to  exercise  powers  in  war 
time  that  it  would  not  be  permitted  to  exercise  in  time  of  peace. 
But  it  can  be  shown  that  even  during  the  war  the  government, 
with  all  its  unusual  powers,  did  not  "ride  rough-shod"  over  the 
people,  but  sought  to  "make  them  partners  in  an  enterprise 
which  after  all  was  their  own."  The  nation  was  fighting  for 
its  life  and  for  the  very  principles  upon  which  it  was  founded, 
and  it  was  necessary  that  cooperation  should  be  complete  and 
effective.  This  was  what  the  government  sought,  and  it  exer- 
cised its  powers  by  inviting  and  obtaining  national  cooperation 
to  a  remarkable  extent. 

Our  national  army  was  created  by  a  "selective"  draft,  or  con- 
scription.    Conscription  had  formerly  been   looked   upon  with 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  89 

disfavor  as  a  form  of  forced   military  service.      A  volunteer 
army  was  thought  to  be  more   in  harmony  with  a  demoratic 
form  of  government.     But  the  draft  is  now  seen  to 
be  far  more  democratic  than  a  volunteer  army  be-  ^r^ft  as  an 
cause  it  treats  all  able-bodied  men  alike,  instead  illustration 
of  leaving  the  fighting  to   those   who  are    most 
courageous  and  most  patriotic  while  those  who  are  inclined  to 
shirk  may  easily  do  so.     Moreover,  the  selective  draft  means 
the  selection  of  men  to  serve  in  the  capacity  for  which  they 
are  best  fitted.     In  Great  Britain,  under  a  volunteer  system,  and 
in  France,  under  a  system  of  compulsory  military  service  for  all 
men,  thousands  of  brave  men  went  to  the  trenches  in  the  early 
days  of  the  war  who,  because  of  their  training,  should  have  been 
kept  at  home  to  perform  the  vast  amount  of  skilled  labor  and 
scientific  work  which  this  war  demanded.     War  industry,  with- 
out which  there  could  be  no  fighting,  was  thus  greatly  hampered. 

By  our  selective  draft,  on  the  other  hand,  while  every  man  was 
expected  to  do  his  share,  each  was  selected  as  far  as  possible  to 
do  the  thing  which  he  could  do  best  and  therefore  which  would 
best  serve  the  country.  It  also  sought  to  prevent  those  who 
had  families  dependent  upon  them  from  going  to  war  until 
they  were  absolutely  needed.  Thus  the  selective  draft  is  an 
example  of  government  organizing  our  national  man-power  for 
more  effective  team  work  and  with  less  hardship  than  if  it  had 
been  left  to  voluntary  action. 

The  United  States  Food  Administration  was  created  by  the 
President  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  a  law  passed  by  Con- 
gress "to  provide  further  for  the  national  security 
and  defense  by  encouraging  the  production,  con-   through  the 
serving  the  supply,  and  controlling  the  distribu-   food  ad- 
tion  of  food  products  and  fuel."     The  President 
placed  at  its  head  a  man  in  whom  the  people  of  the  country 
had  great  confidence  because  of  his  experience  and  success  in 
organizing  and  managing  the  Belgian  relief  work,  Mr.  Herbert 


90  ^  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Hoover.  He  gathered  around  him  men  f  amiUar  with  the  problems 
relating  to  the  food  supply  of  the  nation,  and  then  proceeded  to 
enlighten  the  country  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  these  problems 
and  to  seek  for  the  cooperation  of  the  people  in  solving  them. 

As  soon  as  he  was  appointed,  the  food  administrator  issued  a 
statement  containing  the  following  facts: 

Whereas  we  exported  before  the  war  but  80,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  per 
annum,  this  year  we  must  find  for  all  our  allies  225,000,000  bushels,  and  this 
in  the  face  of  a  short  crop.  .  .  .  France  and  Italy  formerly  produced  their 
own  sugar,  while  England  and  Ireland  imported  largely  from  Germany. 
Owing  to  the  inability  of  the  lirst-named  to  produce  more  than  one  third 
of  their  needs,  and  the  necessity  for  the  others  to  import  from  other  markets, 
they  must  all  come  to  the  West  Indies  for  their  very  large  supplies,  and 
therefore  deplete  our  resources. 

If  we  can  reduce  our  consumption  of  wheat  flour  by  i  pound,  our  meat 
by  7  ounces,  our  sugar  by  7  ounces,  our  fat  by  7  ounces  per  person  per  week, 
these  quantities  multiplied  by  100,000,000  (the  population  of  the  United 
States)  will  immeasurably  aid  and  encourage  our  allies,  help  our  own  grow- 
ing armies,  and  so  effectively  serve  the  great  and  noble  cause  of  humanity 
in  which  our  nation  has  embarked. 

This  illustrates  how  the  Food  Administration  sought  coopera- 
tion. It  "made  partners"  of  the  people,  explained  to  them 
Democracy  a  the  situation,  and  asked  them  to  help  as  individuals, 
partnership  j^-  showed  the  nation  what  it  must  do  if  it  were  to  be 
successful  in  its  undertaking.  It  is  true  that  the  President  had 
large  powers  to  enforce  observance  of  the  rules  outlined  by  the 
Food  Administration,  but  it  was  only  in  the  exceptional  case  of 
the  individual  consumer  and  producer  who  refused  to  cooperate 
for  the  common  good  that  it  became  necessary  to  use  the  power. 
The  method  of  democracy  is  to  point  out  clearly  how  the  de- 
sired result  may  be  obtained  and  to  depend  upon  the  people  to 
govern  themselves  accordingly. 

After  a  year  of  the  war  a  member  of  the  Food  Administration 
is  quoted  as  saying,^  "There's  never  been  anything  like  it  in 

iln  an  article  on  "Your  Wheatless  Days,"  by  W.  A.  Wolff,  in  Collier's  Weekly, 
Aug.  17,  igi8. 


OUR  NATIONAL  COMMUNITY  9 1 

history.  .  .  .  We  asked  the  American  people  to  do  voluntarily 
more  than  any  other  people  has  ever  been  asked  to  do  under 
compulsion.     And  the  American  people  made  good!" 

What  was  true  in  the  unusual  time  of  war  is  true  to  even  a 
greater  extent  in  the  ordinary  time  of  peace.  We  have  little  to 
fear  from  our  national  government  as  long  as  we  and  those  to 
whom  we  intrust  its  management  always  keep  in  mind  its  real 
purpose,  which  is  to  show  us  how  to  work  together  effectively 
as  a  nation  and  to  help  us  to  do  it. 

All  through  this  study  we  are  going  to  observe  how  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life  our  national  government  serves  us  in 
this  respect.  One  thing  that  we  need  especially  Every  man 
to  learn  is  that  we  have  a  great  national  purpose  co"i^ts 
all  the  time,  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war.  In  fact,  peace  is  a  part 
of  that  purpose.  We  went  to  war  because  without  it  there  could 
be  no  assurance  of  a  lasting  peace.  While  we  fought  to  defend 
our  national  purpose  and  our  national  ideals  against  a  powerful 
foe  from  without,  this  purpose  and  these  ideals  cannot  be  fully 
achieved  by  the  war  alone.  They  can  be  finally  achieved  only 
by  ourselves  as  we  develop,  day  by  day,  our  national  community 
life.  To  do  this  we  must  always  keep  in  mind  our  great  national 
purpose,  we  must  realize  our  dependence  upon  one  another  in 
achieving  this  purpose,  and  we  must  make  our  national  team 
work  as  perfect  as  it  can  be  made.  Above  all,  we  must  realize 
that,  in  peace  as  in  war,  every  man  counts  in  our  national  com- 
munity life.     As  President  Wilson  said : 

^'The  Nation  needs  all  men,  but  it  needs  each  man.  .  .  . 
"The  whole  Nation  must  be  a  team,  in  which  each  man  shall 
play  the  part  for  which  he  is  best  fitted.'^ 

Read  and  discuss  President  Wilson's  "Message  to  the  American  People" 
of  April  15,  1Q17. 

What  organizations  existed  in  your  community  to  secure  team  work  for 
war  purposes? 

Show  how  the  Junior  Red  Cross,  or  the  School  Garden  Army,  made 


92  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

cooperation  of  young  citizens  possible  on  a  national  scale.  Is  this  true  in 
peace  times  as  well  as  in  war  time? 

Is  there  greater  or  less  need  of  national  team  work  to-day  than  during 
the  war?     Explain  your  answer. 

What  evidences  are  there  that  the  team  work  of  our  n  tion  has  not  been 
as  good  since  the  war  as  during  the  war?     Why  is  this? 

Show  how  universal  military  training  might  increase  the  national  spirit. 
What  arguments  can  you  give  against  it? 

Should  or  should  not  the  food  administration  of  war  time  be  continued  in 
peace  time?     Why? 

What  does  it  mean  to  you  to  be  an  American? 

READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Van  Dyke,  "The  Blending  of  Races,"  p.  4. 

De  Crevecoeur,  "The  American,"  p.  38. 

Webster,  "Imaginary  Speech  of  John  Adams."  p.  77. 

Brooks,  "The  Fourth  of  July  in  Westminster  Abbey,"  p.  89. 

Van  Dyke,  "The  Americanism  of  Washington,"  pp.  135-137. 

Jay,  "Unity  as  a  Protection  against  Foreign  Force  and  Influence,"  p.  139. 

Webster,  "Liberty  and  Union  Inseparable,"  p.  158. 

Lincoln,  "Gettysburg  Speech,"  p.  181. 

Lincoln,  "Second  Inaugural  Address,"  p.  183. 

Whitman,  "Two  Brothers,  One  North,  One  South,"  p.  201. 

Wilson,  "Spirit  of  America,"  p.  266. 

Roosevelt,  "True  Americanism,"  p.  270. 

Wilson,  "Conscription, Proclamation,"  p.  283. 

Hughes,  "What  the  Flag  Means,"  p.  28S. 

EHot,  "Five  American  Contributions  to  Civilization,"  p.  310. 

Lane,  "Makers  of  the  Flag,"  p.  314. 

McCall,  "America  the  Melting  Pot,"  p.  310. 

Wilson,  "To  Newly-Made  Citizens,"  p.  322. 

Gibbons,  "The  Republic  Will  Endure,"  p.  340. 

Eliot,  "What  Americans  Beheve  In,"  p.  361. 

Abbott,  "Patriotism,"  p.  362. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

Wilson,  "Conscription  Proclamation,"  p.  175. 

Wilson,  "Americanism  and  the  Foreign-Born,"  p.  178. 

Alderman,  "Can  Democracy  be  Organized?"  p.  158. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
A  WORLD    COMMUNITY 

Is  there  a  world  community  ?  A  world  torn  by  war,  as  our 
world  was  from  1914  to  1918,  may  not  seem  to  give  much  evi- 
dence of  it,  and  many  would  at  once  answer  "No"  to  our  ques- 
tion. And  yet  such  phrases  as  the  "brotherhood  of  man"  and 
the  "cause  of  humanity  "  are  familiar  to  us  all.  We  may  briefly 
discuss  the  question  in  this  study,  because  if  there  is  such  a 
community  we  are  all  members  of  it,  and  our  membership  in  it 
affects  our  lives  as  individuals  and  as  a  nation. 

The  world  community  is  certainly  very  imperfectly  developed, 
but  while  the  war  emphasized  its  imperfections,  it  also  furnished 
evidence  of  its  reality.     Its  existence  depends  upon 
the  presence  of  recognized  common  purposes  and  vvar^discfosed 
of  organized  team  work   in  accomplishing    these  with  regard 
purposes,  as  in  the  case  of  any  community.     The   community 
war  disclosed  conflicting  interests  among  the  na- 
tions ;   but  it  united  for  a  common  purpose  a  larger  part  of  the 
world's  population  than  had  ever  before  acted  together  im  a 
common  cause.     It  disclosed  an  interdependence  among  the 
nations  and  the  peoples  of  the  world  that  we  had  not  thought 
of.     And  while  it  disclosed  the  weakness  of  the  world's  organiza- 
tion for  team  work,  it  aroused  us  to  the  possibihties  of  such 
organization,  made  us  long  for  it,  and  brought  us,  as  many 
believe,  a  step  nearer  to  its  accomplishment. 

Separated  by  wide  oceans  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  our 
nation  grew  and  prospered  with  a  sense  of  security  America's 
from  the  conflicts  that  from  time  to  time  disturbed   ^^^^^^^^^^ 
the  Old  World.     We  early  adopted  a  policy  of  world 

93 


94 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


avoiding  entanglements  that  might  draw  us  into  these  con- 
flicts.    In  his  Farewell  Address  Washington  said : 

The  great  rule  of  conduct  for  us  in  regard  to  foreign  nations  is,  in  extending 
our  commercial  relations,  to  have  with  them  as  little  political  connection 
as  possible.  .  .  .     Why,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part 


"The  Atlantic  has  been  Crossed  by  Airplane" 

From  a  painting  by  Lieut.  C.  E.  Ruttan,  U.S.N.R.F. 

This  is  one  of  a  series  of  paintings  depicting  the  trans-Atlantic  flight  and  hanging 
in  the  Bureau  of  Navigation,  Navy  Department,  Washington,  D.C. 

of  Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  posterity  in  the  toils  of  European  ambi- 
tion, rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or  caprice?  It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer 
clear  of  permanent  alliances  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world. 

A  few  years  later,  President  Monroe  issued  his  famous  state- 
ment known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  which,  recognizing  the 
principle  that  Washington  had  stated,  also  denied  the  right  of 
European  powers    to   interfere  with   the   free   growth   of   the 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY  95 

republican  nations  of  NorUi  and  South  America.  The  United 
States  has  steadfastly  held  to  this  doctrine  from  that  day  to 
this. 

But  great  changes  have  come  to  the  world  since  the  time  of 
Washington.     The  use  of  steam  in  navigation,   the  submarine 
cable,  and  wireless  telegraphy  have  brought  all  the  „  .•       , 
world  into  closer  relations  than  existed  between  become  close 
New  England  and  the  Southern  States  in  the  early  "^'shbors 
days  of  our  national  life.     Our  government  at  Washington  may 
send  messages  to  European  capitals  and  receive  a  reply  within 
ten  minutes.     The  Atlantic  has  been  crossed  by  airplane.     The 
nations  of  the  world  have  become  very  close  neighbors.     The 
murder  of  a  prince  in  a  little  city  of  central  Europe  drew  from 
millions  of  homes  in  America  their  sons  to  fight  on  the  soil  of 
Europe.     We  entered  the  war  because  our  interests    were  so 
closely  bound  up  with  those  of  the  world  that  we  could  not 
keep  out;    because  "what   affects  mankind  is  inevitably  our 
affair,  as  well  as  the  affair  of  the  nations  of  Europe  and  Asia." 

The  war  did  not  create  this  interdependence ;  it  only  empha- 
sized it.  But  now  that  we  are  aware  of  it,  it  will  probably 
influence  our  lives  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  before  the  war. 

The  nations  that  were  associated  against  Germany  occupy, 
with  their  dependencies,  two  thirds  of  the  earth's  surface  and 
include  more  than  four  fifths  of  its  population,   ^j^^^  ^^^ 
The  governments  of  these  nations  declared  that  world  was 
they  were  fighting  primarily,  not  for  selfish  interests     ^  ^^^^ 
such  as  "ports  and  provinces  and  trade,"  but  "for  the  common 
interests  of  the  whole  family  of  civilized  nations  —  for  nothing 
less  than  the  cause  of  mankind."  ^     Even  if  some  of  the  govern- 
ments were  influenced  to  a  greater  or  less    extent  by  selfish 
motives,  they  still  recognized  a  common  interest  of  the  peoples 
of  the  world,  a  "cause  of  mankind,"  and  based  their  appeals 
upon   it.     The   prime   minister   of    England   said,    "We  must 

*  Stuart  p.  Sherraan,  American  and  Allied  Ideals,  p.  14. 


96  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

not  allow  any  sense  of  revenge,  any  spirit  of  greed,  any  grasping 
desire,  to  overcome  the  fundamental  principles  of  righteous- 
ness." Far-away  Siam  declared  that  she  entered  the  war  "to 
uphold  the  sanctity  of  international  rights  against  nations  show- 
ing a  contempt  for  humanity."  And  little  Guatemala  pro- 
claimed that  she  had  "from  the  first  adhered  to  and  supported 
the  attitude  of  the  United  States  in  defense  of  the  rights  of 
nations,  of  hberty  of  the  seas,  and  of  international  justice." 
Our  President  said  that  "what  we  demand  in  this  war  is  nothing 
pecuhar  to  ourselves.  It  is  that  the  world  be  made  fit  and  safe 
to  live  in  for  every  peace-loving  nation.  ...  All  the  peoples 
of  the  world  are  in  effect  partners  in  this  interest." 

The  avowed  purpose  for  which  the  United  States  entered  the 
war,  and  for  which  "all  the  peoples  of  the  world  are  in  effect 
partners,"  is  the  same  as  that  for  which  the  American  Revolu- 
tionary War  was  fought,  which  was  proclaimed  in  our  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  for  which  America  has  always  stood 
—  the  equal  right  of  all  men  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness,"  and  to  self-government.  Nearly  the  whole 
world  was  united  against  a  few  autocratic  governments  that 
denied  these  rights. 

At  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution  the  colonists  had  no 
desire  to  fight  the  English  people,  but   revolted  against    the 

autocratic  English  government  of  that  time,  which 
fought^for^^  refused  to  recognize  the  rights  of  the  people.  The 
the  freedom      English  people  had  many  times  fought  for  these 

rights,  and  many  of  them  sympathized  with  the 
American  colonists.  The  winning  of  American  independence 
was  a  victory  for  free  government  in  England  as  well  as  in 
America,  and  the  government  of  England  to-day  is  as  democratic 
as  our  own.  This  understanding  about  the  American  Revolu- 
tion throws  light  upon  what  the  President  of  the  United  States 
meant  when  he  said  that  we  fought  Germany  for  "the  ultimate 
peace  of  the  world  and  for  the  liberation  of  its  peoples,  the 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY  97 

German  peoples  included. ^^  Another  writer  said,  "We  are  not 
fighting  to  put  the  Germans  out  but  to  get  them  in." 

It  has  taken  a  long  time    for  the  peoples  of  the  world  to 
develop  a  sense  of  their  common  wants  and  purposes.     Differ- 
ences in  language,  in  race  and  color,  in  religious  ^,  ., 
beliefs  and  observances,  in  forms  of  government,   of  human 
even  in  such  matters  as  dress  and  other  habits  ^y™P^^  y 
and  customs,  have  tended  to  obscure  the  common  feelings  of 
all.     This  lack  of   sympathetic  understanding  is  suggested  by 
Shylock,  in  Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice: 

Hath  not  a  Jew  e^^es?  hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organs,  dimensions,  senses, 
afifections,  passions?  fed  with  the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons, 
subject  to  the  same  diseases,  healed  by  the  same  means,  warmed  and  cooled 
by  the  same  Winter  and  Summer,  as  a  Christian  is?  If  you  prick  us,  do 
we  not  bleed?  if  you  tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh?  if  you  poison  us,  do  we  not 
die  ?  and  if  you  wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge  ?  if  we  are  like  you  in  the  rest 
we  will  resemble  you  in  that. 

Increased  opportunity  for  travel,  better  means  of  communica- 
tion, and  more  widespread  education  have  greatly  increased 
the  understanding  among  peoples  and  nations,  and  have  dis- 
closed to  view  common  purposes  and  ideals  in  spite  of  differences. 
The  fact  that  large  numbers  of  people  from  every  part  of  the 
globe  have  come  to  the  United  States  to  live  together  as  one 
nation  has  contributed  to  the  same  result 

Give  illustrations  from  your  own  experience  and  reading  to  show  that 
differences  in  dress,  language,  race,  and  customs  make  sympathetic  under- 
standing difficult. 

What  is  meant  by  "America,  the  melting-pot"? 

As  the  peoples  of  the  world  have  become  better  acquainted, 
individuals  and  groups  have  tended  to  associate  international 
themselves  together,  regardless- of  national  bound-   cooperation 
aries,  for  the  promotion  of  common  interests. 

One  example  of  this  is  the  common  movement  of  organized  labor  which 
has  overstepped  national  boundaries. 

There  is  an  International  Institute  of  Agriculture,  with  headquarters 
at  Rome,  and  representing  56  countries,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  promote 


98 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


better  economic  and  social  conditions  among  agricultural  populations  of  the 
world.     Some  of  its  publications  are  published  in  five  languages. 

Literature  and  art  bind  all  the  world  together,  and  science  knows  no 
national  boundary  lines.  Christianity  is  one  of  the  greatest  influences  for 
a  "brotherhood  of  man."  Differences  in  religious  belief  have  presented 
most  difficult  barriers  to  overcome,  but  there  has  been  a  steadily  increasing 
tolerance  of  one  religious  faith  toward  others. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  hundreds  of  illustrations  that  might  be  given. 

Make  a  list  of  international  organizations  known  to  you  or  your  parents. 


Meeting  of  the  League  of  Red  Cross  Societies,  Geneva,  Sv^^itzerland 

Thirty  nations  are  here  represented.  The  meeting  is  being  held  in  the  room  where 
the  treaty  was  concluded  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  settling  the 
dispute  that  arose  during  the  Civil  War  with  regard  to  the  Confederate  boat  Alabama. 


We  have  all  become  familiar,  during  the  war,  with  the  work 
of  the  Red  Cross.  No  other  organization  has  done  more  to 
extend  the  feeling  of  common  [brotherhood  in  the  world  and 
the  spirit  of  world  service.  Since  the  war  a  League  of  Red  Cross 
Societies  has  been  formed,  with  headquarters  at  Geneva,  Swit- 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY  99 

zerland,  and   representing  thirty  nations.     During  the  war  a 
Junior  Department  of  the  Red  Cross  was  organized,  enrolUng 
in   its  membership   about   twelve   million    Amer-   service  of 
ican    boys    and   girls    and    organizing    them    for  the  Red 
practical  service  to  war-stricken  Europe  and  Asia. 
Since  the  war,  the  Junior  Red  Cross,  whose  headquarters  are  at 
Washington,  D.C.,  has   developed    a  plan    to  promote   corre- 
spondence among  boys  and  girls  of  different   lands,  and  an 
exchange  of  handiwork,  pictures,  and  other  things  illustrative  of 
their  interests.    The  American  School  Citizenship  League  (405 
Marlborough   Street,  Boston)   encourages    the  same  idea,  and 
there  is  a  Bureau  of  French- American  Education  Correspondence 
for  a  similar  purpose,  with  headquarters  at  the  George  Peabody 
College  for  Teachers,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

Numerous  international  peace  congresses  have  been  held,  the 
first   one   as   early   as    1843,  and   in    the   United  ^j^^  ^q^^. 
States  and  other  countries  organizations  exist  for  ment  for 
the  promotion  of   friendly    relations    among  the  ^"'^    peace 
nations,  and  especially  for  the  substitution  of  arbitration  for 
war  as  a  means  of  settling  international  disputes. 

Among  such  organizations  in  the  United  States  are  the  League  to  Enforce 
Peace,  the  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace,  the  American 
Peace  and  Arbitration  League,  the  American  Peace  Society,  the  World 
Peace  Federation,  the  Church  Peace  Union. 

One    of    the    most    successful    experiments    in  international 
cooperation  is  that  of  the  North  and' South  American  republics. 
The  first  Pan-American  Conference,  attended  by  ■p^^_ 
delegates  from  the  twenty-one  American  republics,   American 
was  held   in  Washington,   D.C.,  in   1889.     As  a 
result  of  this  Conference  the  Pan-American  Union  was  estab- 
lished,   with    permanent    headquarters    in    Washington.     Its 
purpose  is  "the  development  of  commerce,  friendly  intercourse, 
and  good  understanding  among  these  countries." 

What  may  be  gained  by  correspondence  between  the  young  people  of 
different  lands? 


lOO 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Report  on  the  following  (see  Readings) : 
The  work  of  the  Pan-American  Union 
The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  war  and  peace 
The  peace  program  of  the  Junior  Red  Cross 

To  secure  anything  like  effective  team  work  among  the  na- 
tions for  the  common  interest  and  to  substitute  arbitration 
International  for  war  as  a  means  of  setthng  differences,  there 
government  must  be  some  kind  of  international  organization, 
and  rules  to  which  the  governments  of  the  nations  will  agree. 


I'an-American  Building,  Washinlton,  D.C. 


Civilized  nations  have  always  had  their  official  means  of  dealing 
with  one  another  through  their  governments,  such  as  the  diplo- 
matic and  consular  services.  Alliances  have,  from  time  im- 
memorial, been  made  between  nations,  treaties  have  been 
solemnly  agreed  to,  and  a  body  of  international  law  has  gradually 
grown  up.  But  treaties  and  international  law  have  frequently 
been  violated,  and  no  international  government  has  existed 
with  sufficient  authority  or  power  to  force  nations  to  observe 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY 


lOi 


the  law  or  to  keep  their  agreements.  As  a  result  of  two  peace 
conferences  held  at  The  Hague  in  Holland,  in  1899  and  1907, 
an  international  Court  of  Arbitration  was  established  at  The 
Hague  (The  Hague  Tribunal),  before  which  disputes  might 
be  brought  by  nations  if  they  desired  to  do  so.  But  there  was  no 
way  by  which  a  nation  could  be  compelled  to  appeal  to  the  court. 


r '  ■ 
, ' 

^ 

^^^^^^^^^^^Hi^^B^Bl  ^B  ^1 

fk.Mtkk  il 

rnjiJiJ! 

J^JfMJ.-9% 

M 

International  Industrial  Conference,  1919 

This  Conference  was  held  at  Washington,  D.C.,  having  been  called  together  by 
the  United  States  Government  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Germany.    It  was  attended  by  delegates  from  forty  nations. 

Nations  have  a  strong  sense  of   their  nationality,  and  are 
extremely  jealous  of  their  sovereignty,  which  is  the  Nationality 
supreme  power  claimed  by  every  nation  to  form  and 
its    own    government    and    to    manage    its    own  ^°^^''®'8n  y 
affairs  without  interference  by  other  nations.     It  is  this  that 


I02  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

has  prevented  the  development  of  anything  like  a  real  inter- 
national government  that  could  control  the  conduct  of  national 
governments,  or  that  could  require  a  nation  to  submit  its 
grievances  to  any  judge  other  than  itself.  This  has  been  one  of 
the  chief  weaknesses  of  the  world  community. 

Many  people  have  long  believed  that  the  self-governing 
nations  of  the  world  must  sooner  or  later  unite,  in  the  interest 
A  League  of  world  peace,  in  some  kind  of  federation  or  league, 

of  Nations  with  a  central  organization  to  which  all  would  agree 
to  submit  their  differences.  The  war  made  it  seem  even  more 
necessary.  Accordingly'  the  Peace  Conference  at  Versailles 
at  the  close  of  the  war  included  in  the  treaty  of  peace  a  Covenant 
(or  constitution)  for  a  League  of  Nations.  In  January,  1920, 
the  treaty,  including  the  Covenant,  had  been  ratified  by  four  of 
the  five  great  nations  associated  against  Germany  (France, 
England,  Italy,  and  Japan ;  the  United  States  being  the  excep- 
tion), and  several  smaller  nations.  While  the  President  of 
the  United  States  strongly  advocated  the  treaty  with  the 
Covenant,  the  Senate  did  not  approve  of  its  ratification.  Those 
in  our  country  who  opposed  the  Covenant  as  it  was  offered  by 
the  Peace  Conference  did  so  for  a  variety  of  reasons,  but  chief 
among  them  were :  first,  the  fear  that  the  Covenant  would  cause 
us  to  depart  from  the  principles  laid  down  by  Washington  and 
Monroe  (see  page  94) ;  and,  second,  the  fear  that  the  powers 
conferred  upon  the  international  government  would  deprive  our 
rational  government  of  some  of  its  sovereign  powers.  The 
friends  of  the  Covenant  of  course  denied  that  either  of  these 
things  would  be  true. 

The  question  of  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the 
League  of  Nations  under  the  Covenant  as  contained  in  the  treaty 
The  League  of  peace  became  an  issue  in  the  presidential  elec- 
begins  work  ^{q^  of  1920.  By  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the 
Democratic  candidate,  who  favored  acceptance  of  the  Covenant, 
the  people  confirmed  the  action  of  the  Senate  a  few  months 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY 


103 


earlier.  However,  the  victorious  candidate  of  the  Republican 
Party  declared  himself  in  favor  of  "some  kind"  of  an  association 
of  nations  which  the  United  States  should  enter,  and  this  seems 
to  represent  popular  feeling,  although  there  are  those  in  both 
great  political  parties  who  wish  the  United  States  to  remain  out 
of  any  such  association  or  league.     Meanwhile,  the  League  of 


Assembling  of  the  Peace  Conference  at  Paris,  France 

President  Poincare  of  France,  in  opening  the  conference  said,  "  You  hold  in  your 
hands  the  future  of  the  world." 


Nations  as  provided  for  in  the  Covenant  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
has  been  organized,  its  Council  having  held  its  first  meeting 
January  16,  1920,  the  United  States,  of  course,  not  being  repre- 
sented. By  the  end  of  1920,  forty-six  nations  were  members. 
Whether  or  not  the  United  States  should  enter  the  League 
we  shall  have  to  leave  for  the  statesmen  to  decide ;  and  whether 
or  not  the  League  will  accomplish  the  desired  ends,  time  alone 
can  prove.  But  two  or  three  things  may  safely  be  said  with 
regard  to  any  really  effective  world  government. 


I04  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

When  people  live  together  in  communities,  each  person  has 
to  sacrifice  something  of  his  personal  freedom  in  order  that  all 
Might  does  "^^^  ^^i^y  ^^^  largest  possible  liberty  (see  page 
not  make  22).     The  same  is  true  of  families  in  a  neighbor- 

"^  hood,  of  communities  in  a  state,  of  the  states  in 

our  nation.  There  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  true  of 
nations  which  are  neighbors  to  one  another.  No  nation  has 
any  more  right  to  do  as  it  pleases  than  a  person  or  a  family 
has,  if  what  it  pleases  to  do  is  unjust  to  its  neighbors.  The  only 
thing,  however,  that. a  nation  can  properly  be  asked  to  give 
up  is  being  unjust  to  its  neighbors.  We  saw  in  Chapter  IV  that 
government  and  law  increase  rather  than  decrease  the  individual 
citizen's  freedom,  and  that  it  is  only  the  "ill-mannered"  who 
feel  the  restriction  of  a  wise  government  (see  page  48).  So,  when 
we  finally  get  a  world  government  that  is  good,  it  will  be  one  that 
will  increase  the  freedom  of  all  "good-mannered"  nations,  re- 
stricting only  those  that  are  "ill-mannered." 

Moreover,  when  we  finally  get  a  league  of  nations  that  will 

^.   ^  really  secure  friendly  cooperation  among  the  na- 

"  America  tions  for  their  common  interests,  it  will  be  brought 

irs      means    g^]-)Q^(^^^  j^qj-  ^y  sacrificing  nationality  and  national 

patriotism,  but  by  strengthening  them. 

What  is  required  is  not  less  loyalty  to  one's  nationality,  but  more  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  nationalities  and  national  ideals  different  from  one's 
own,  combined  with  a  recognition  of  the  fundamental  interests.  .  .  .  which 
unite  them  to  each  other.^ 

The  only  way  to  be  sure  of  a  perfect  neighborhood  is  first  to 
see  to  it  that  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood  are  strong  and 
wholesome.  No  person  can  really  be  loyal  to  his  neighborhood 
who  is  not  first  of  all  loyal  to  his  home.  Thoroughly  efficient 
townships  and  counties  and  cities  are  essential  to  a  thoroughly 
efficient  state;  and  no  citizen  is  loyal  to  his  state  who  is  not 
loyal  to  his  township,  county,  and  city.     The  strength  of  our 

1  "Thoughts  on  Nationalism  and  Internationalism,"  in  History  Teacher's  Maga- 
zine, June,  191 8,  p.  334. 


A  WORLD  COMMUNITY  105 

nation  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  states  that  compose  it, 
and  real  national  patriotism  cannot  well  exist  in  the  heart  of  a 
citizen  who  is  disloyal  to  his  state.  The  first  essential  step 
toward  an  effective  world  government  is  to  see  that  our  national 
government  is  efficient  and  at  the  same  time  just.  The  first 
and  best  service  that  a  citizen  can  perform  for  the  world  com- 
munity is  to  be  loyal  to  American  ideals,  which  are  becoming 
the  ideals  of  an  ever-increasing  part  of  the  world's  population. 
The  new  type  of  patriot  no  longer  cries,  ^'My  country  against 
the  world,"  but  "My  country  for  the  world."  ^ 

What  disputes  have  been  settled  by  the  Hague  Tribunal?  Why  was 
the  dispute  that  led  to  the  recent  war  not  settled  by  it? 

The  meaning  of  "nationaUty?"     Of  "sovereignty?" 

Has  a  government  any  more  right  to  be  dishonest  than  an  individual? 

Report  both  sides  of  the  argument  over  the  ratification  by  the  United 
States  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Covenant  for  the  League  of  Nations 
(see  references). 

Follow  the  steps  of  the  Republican  administration  begun  in  192 1  to  bring 
the  United  States  into  "some  kind  of  association"  with  the  other  nations. 

Discuss  the  truth  of  the  statement  that  "the  only  way  to  be  sure  of  a 
perfect  neighborhood  is  first  to  see  to  it  that  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood 
are  strong  and  wholesome." 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  statement  in  the  quotation  at  the  end  of 
the  text  above? 

READINGS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Washington,  "Farewell  Address,"  pp.  105-124. 

Washington,  "Proclamation  of  Neutrality,"  pp.  143-146. 

"The  Monroe  Doctrine,"  pp.  148-149. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  "The  Mission  of  America,"  pp.  1 45-150. 

George  F.  Hoar,  "A  Warning  .Against  the  Spirit  of  Empire,"  pp.  244-247. 

Woodrow  Wilson,  "Spirit  of  America,"  pp.  266-268. 

Franklin  K.  Lane,  "Why  We  Are  Fighting  Germany,"  pp.  282-283. 

Carl  Schurz,  "The  Rule  of  Honor  for  the  Republic,"  pp.  342-343. 

Woodrow  Wilson,  "War  Message  of  April  2,  1917,"  pp.  351-361. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

Washington,  "Counsel  on  .\lliances"  (Farewell  Address),  pp.  1S5-189. 

1  Stuart  P.  Sherman,  American  and  Allied  Ideals,  p.  14. 


Io6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

"The  Monroe  Doctrine,"  pp.  igo-193. 

Henry  Clay,  "The  Emancipation  of  South  America,"  pp.  194-199. 

Robert  E.  Lansing,  "Pan-Americanism,"  pp.  200-296. 

A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  "A  League  to  Enforce  Peace,"  pp.  207-223. 

George  G.  Wilson,  "The  Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace," 

pp.  224-232. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "The  Conditions  of  Peace,"  pp.  233-241. 
Woodrow  Wilson,  "War  for  Democracy  and  Peace,"  pp.  242-256. 
Various  books  and  pamphlets  have  been  written  relating  to  the  League  of  Nations 
and  world  relations  following  the  war.     Among  these  are : 

The  League  ofJVaiions,  edited  by  Henry  E.  Jackson  (published  by  Prentice-Hall, 
Inc.,  70  Fifth  Ave.,  N.Y.  Paper,  50?^;  cloth,  $1).  "A  document  prepared  to 
stimulate  community  discussion  and  promote  organized  public  opinion."  This 
book  contains,  at  the  end,  a  list  of  titles  of  books  and  pamphlets  on  the  subject. 
The  Lodge-Lowell  Debate  on  the  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations  (World  Peace 
Foundation,  Boston).  President  Lowell,  of  Harvard  University,  argued  for, 
and  Senator  Lodge  against,  the  Covenant  as  contained  in  the  treaty  of  peace. 
Taft,  William  Howard,  Why  a  League  of  Nations  is  Necessary  (League  to  Enforce 

Peace,  New  York). 
Sherman,  Stuart  V.,  American  and  Allied  Ideals  (World  Peace  Foundation,  Boston). 
The  complete  official  record  of  the  United  States  Senate  debate  on  the  treaty 
of  peace  is  to  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Record,  a  file  of  which  should  be  in  your 
public  library. 

The  course  of  the  debate  was  followed  more  or  less  closely  by  such  periodicals  as 
The  Literary  Digest,  World's  Work,  The  Outlook,  The  Independent. 

For  the  work  of  the  Pan-American  Union  and  the  Red  Cross  consult  your  public 
library ;  and  write  to  the  Pan-.\merican  Union  and  the  American  Red  Cross,  both  in 
Washington,  D.C.,  for  descriptive  publications. 

For  the  Hague  Conferences  and  the  Hague  Tribunal  consult  any  good  modern  en- 
cyclopedia, and  your  public  library.  Write  for  materials  to  the  American  School 
Peace  League,  405  Marlborough  St.,  Boston,  and  the  World  Peace  Foundation, 
Boston. 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life:  Series  B,  Lesson  16,  "Why  We  Must 
Help  France." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    COMMUNITY   AND    THE   HOME 

"'No  nation  can  be  destroyed  while  it  possesses  a  good  home  life." 

The  home  is  the  smallest,  the  simplest,  and  the  most  familiar 
community  of  which  we  are  members.  In  many  respects  it  is 
also  the  most  important.  The  quotation  with  which  the  chapter 
opens  suggests  this. 

What  do  you  think  the  quotation  at  the  head  of  the  chapter  means? 
In  what  respects  do  you  think  it  is  true? 

Some  cities  take  pride  in  the  fact  that  they  are  "cities  of  homes."  What 
does  this  mean?  Why  is  it  a  cause  for  pride?  Does  the  phrase  apply  to 
your  city? 

May  a  good  home  exist  in  a  poor  dwelling?  A  poor  home  in  a  fine 
dwelling  ? 

Is  a  hotel  a  home?     May  a  family  living  in  a  hotel  have  a  home  there? 

Is  an  orphanage  a  home?  Would  you  be  willing  to  exchange  life  in  your 
own  home  for  life  in  an  orphanage? "  Why? 

The  home  is  important  (i)  because  of  what  it  does  for  its  own 
members,  and  (2)  because  of  what  it  does  for  the  larger  com- 
munity of  which  it  is  a  part. 

Under  the  conditions  of  pioneer  life  the  wants  of  the  members 
of  the  family  were  provided  for  almost  entirely  by  their  own 
united  efforts.    When  other  homes  were  built  in  Effect  of 
the  neighborhood  a  larger  community  life  began,   community 
The  neighboring  homes  came  to  depend  upon  one  ^'^^^ 
another  and  to  cooperate  in   many  ways.     The  store  at  the 
crossroads  provided  for  many  wants  that  each  home  had  for- 
merly provided  for  itself.    The  doctor  who  came  to  live  in  the 
community  relieved  the  home  of  much  anxiety  in  case  of  sick- 
ness. The  education  of  the  children  was  in  part,  at  least,  turned 

107 


io8 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


over  to  the  community  school.    And  so,  as  a  community  grows, 

the  home  shifts  much  of  the  responsibility  for  providing  for  the 

wants  of  its  members  upon  community  agencies. 

This  shifting  of  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  citizens  from 

the  home  to  the  larger  community  is  carried  furthest  in  cities. 

^        ^  Almost  everything  wanted  in  the  home  may  be 

Dependence  jo  -'      ^ 

of  the  city  bought  in  the  city  shops,  and  work  that  is  done  in 
^°™®  the  home  for  the  family,  such  as  repair  work,  dress- 

making, laundry  work,  and  cooking,  is  likely  to  be   done  by 

people  brought  in  from  the 
outside.  Water  is  piped  in 
from  a  public  water  sup- 
ply and  sewage  is  piped  out 
through  public  sewers. 
Gas  and  electricity  are 
furnished  by  city  plants. 
Since  many  homes  have 
no  spot  of  ground  for  a 
garden  or  for  outdoor 
play,  they  depend  upon 
public  parks  and  playgrounds  provided  by  the  city.  These  are 
among  the  many  so-called  advantages  of  city  life. 

When  so  much  is  done  for  the  citizen  by  community  agencies, 
there  is  danger  that  the  family  may  lose  sight  of  its  responsibility 
^jjg  to  its  own  members  and  to  the  community.    The 

obligation  of  home  can  never  transfer  to  the  community  the 
the  home  entire  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  its  members. 

Even  in  the  largest  and  best  governed  cities,  the  influence  of  the 
home  for  the  health,  the  safety,  the  education,  the  social  and 
recreational  life  of  the  people  is  more  far-reaching  than  that  of  any 
other  agency.  Indeed,  the  responsibility  of  the  home  increases 
with  the  growth  of  the  community  because  of  the  increasing 
interdependence  of  which  we  have  learned  (Chapter  II). 


Old  Log  House  on  an  Ohio  Farm 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  1 09 

When  a  home  is  isolated,  its  members  are  the  chief  sufferers  from  failure 
to  take  proper  measures  for  health  protection.  In  a  city,  the  carelessness  or 
indifference  or  ignorance  of  one  family  may  cause  the  pollution  of  the  entire 
city's  water  supply,  or  the  spread  of  an  epidemic  of  disease.  The  influence 
of  an  untidy  or  illiterate  home  may  counteract  the  influence  of  a  good  school 
throughout  an  entire  neighborhood. 


|K:r^ 

^^' 

^"^k 

HHPIP! 

1 

M 

s 

^p 

^^ 

^E 

^a 

■i 

A  Street  of  Homes  in  Kansas  City 

Schools,  health  department,  fire  department,  and  all  the  other 
agencies  of  the  city  government,  which  are,  as  we  have  seen, 
merely  the  machinery  for  securing  community  cooperation,  will 
fail  to  produce  the  results  expected  of  them  unless  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  the  community's  homes  actually  takes  place. 
It  is  a  lack  of  such  cooperation  that  is  really  responsible  for 
much  of  the  inefificiency  for  which  the  schools  and  other  depart- 
ments of  government  are  frequently  blamed. 

Review  what  was  said  in  Chapter  II  regarding  the  independence  of  the 
pioneer  family;  also  what  was  said  about  the  growing  dependence  of  the 
family  upon  the  community. 

Gather  stories  regarding  pioneer  home  life  (a)  in  your  own  locality ;  (J»)  in 
the  settlement  of  the  West;  (c)  in  colonial  times.  Illustrate  from  these 
itories  how  the  home  provided  for  the  wants  of  its  members. 


no 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


From  parents  or  grandparents  ascertain  what  wants  were  provided  for 
in  their  homes  during  childhood  that  are  now  provided  for  by  agencies  out- 
side of  your  home. 

How  far  is  it  true  that  "almost  everything  wanted  in  your  home  is  bought 
in  the  city  shops,"  and  that  "work  done  in  your  home  for  the  family  is 
done  by  help  brought  in  from  outside?" 

Discuss  the  truth  of  the  statement  that  "the  responsibility  of  the  home 
increases  with  the  growth  of  the  community,"  giving  illustration  from  your 
own  experience  or  observation. 


New  Homes  in  Wichita  Falls,  Texas 


Show  how  your  school  may  be  hindered  in  its  work  by  lack  of  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  the  homes  of  the  pupils.  In  what  respects  does  your  school 
depend  particularly  upon  cooperation  from  the  homes  of  the  pupils? 

Home  building  is  always  an  important  factor  in  community 
and  nation  building.  It  gives  permanence  and  stability  to 
community  and  national  life.  This  is  suggested 
by  the  experience  of  Wichita  Falls,  Texas.  Because 
of  the  discovery  of  oil  in  the  vicinity,  this  city  grew 
from  a  population  of  8500  in  1910  to  a  population 
of  45,000  in  1920.   "Realizing  that  Wichita  Falls  in  its  new  era 


The  home 
the  unit 
of  commun- 
ity life 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME 


III 


of  growth  is  made  up  largely  of  newcomers,  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  is  endeavoring  to  tie  the  families  throughout  the  city 
definitely  to  the  community  through  the  formation  of  block 
organizations  and  '  block  parties.'  It  is  impossible  to  hold  a 
family  wholeheartedly  unless  some  sort  of  claim  upon  the  home, 
including  the  wife  and  mother  and  the  children,  is  established. 
The  fact  that  the  head  of  the  family  has  a  good  business  connec- 
tion downtown  does  not  make  good  citizens  of  the  entire  family."  ^ 


— fwM&tra  111  v  Vrtff -tT'tSifff-rir  ft  ^^«£^JuMi 


Reconstruction  of  Homes  in  France 

Note  the  temporary  homes  erected  in  the  ruins  of  this  town  (Attigny) .  Through 
the  Junior  Red  Cross  many  boys  and  girls  of  America  have  helped  to  furnish  such 
homes  and  to  care  for  the  children  who  occupy  them. 


One  of  the  first  things  to  which  France  and  other  European 
nations  turned  their  attention  after  the  close  of  the  Great  War 
was  the  restoration  of  home  life.  In  the  war- 
swept  regions  many  thousands  of  homes  had  been 
destroyed.  More  serious  than  the  destruction  of 
dwellings  was  the  breaking  up  of  families,  which 
was  not  limited  to  the  battle  zone.  It  is  said  that  more  than 
'  The  American  CUy,  September,  1920,  p.  315 


Home  build- 
ing in  war- 
stricken 
Europe 


112 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Some  or  Poland's  Homeless  Children 


Feeding  the  Hungry  in  Albania 

The  breaking  up  of  families  was  a  serious  result  of  the  war 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  I13 

11,000,000  children  in  Europe  lost  one  or  both  parents  during 
the  war,  and  that  from  one  third  to  one  half  of  this  number  were 
left  absolutely  homeless.  The  children  of  America  have  helped 
materially  in  the  reconstruction  of  European  homes  through 
the  channels  of  the  Junior  Red  Cross. 

In  what  ways  do  you  think  the  existence  of  11,000,000  war  orphans  in 
Europe  weakens  the  nations  in  which  they  Hve? 

Why  should  America  be  interested  in  these  European  war  orphans? 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  Junior  Red  Cross  in  assisting  the  children  of 
Europe. 

When  the  United  States  government  undertook  to  develop 
the  resources  of  the  unsettled  public  lands  in  the  West  (see 
Chapter  XX),  it  sought  the  cooperation  of  the 
people  in  the  enterprise,  and  secured  it  largely  by  building 
appealing  to  their  desire  to  own  homes.   Thus,  the  through  home 
Homestead  Act  passed  by  Congress  in  1862  and 
modified  from  time  to  time  by  later  Acts,  provides  that  any 
citizen  of  the  United  States  who  has  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  or  who  is  the  head  of  a  family,  may  acquire  a  homestead 
in  the  public  lands  on  condition  that  he  builds  a  dwelling,  lives 
there  for  a  period  of  three  years  and  actually  cultivates  the 
land,  paying  to  the  government  only  a  small  fee.     Thus  the 
government  serves  the  people  by  aiding  them  to  acquire  homes, 
while  the  people  serve  the  nation  by  opening  up  the  resources  of 
the  land. 

The  census  taken  by  the  United    States  government  every 
ten  years  shows  that  home  ownership  has  been  decreasing  both 
in  cities  and  in  rural  districts,  but  most  in  cities. 
This  has  been  observed  with  considerable  anxiety  ship  and 
because  of  its  probable  effect  upon  our  national  community 
welfare  and  upon  the  citizenship  of  the  country. 
A  family  that  owns  its  home  feels  a  sense  of  proprietorship  in  a 
part  of  the  community  land.     The  money  value  of  a  home 
increases  in  proportion  to  the  prosperity  of  the  community  as 


114 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


1 

^£^ 

HHH^P^ESSrli^&e^^^fQ^^^V^CiSB^^^^^^^Jb^^^  *^?^wHTii!iBM'r'^MB 

Which  Family  Takes  the  Greater  Interest  in  the  Community? 


a  whole ;  its  owner  will  therefore  be  inclined  to  do  all  he  can  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  community.  A  community  that  is 
made  up  largely  of  homes  owned  by  their  occupants  is  likely 
to  be  more  prosperous  and  more  progressive,  and  its  citizens 
more  loyal  to  it,  than  a  community  whose  families  are  tenants. 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  1 15 

Yet  it  must  not  be  thought  that  tenancy  is  in  all  cases  a  bad 
thing,  nor  that  a  man  who  does  not  own  his  home  cannot  be  a 
thoroughly  good  citizen.  There  are  circumstances  The  tenant 
that  make  it  necessary  for  many  families  to  live  in  ^^  ^  citizen 
dwellings  that  they  do  not  own.  Tenancy  may  be  a  step 
toward  home  ownership.  A  citizen  may  have  insufficient 
money  to  buy  a  home,  but  enough  to  enable  him  to  rent  one. 
By  industry,  economy,  and  intelligence,  he  may  soon  accumulate 
means  with  which  to  buy  the  home  he  occupies  or  some  other. 
It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  home  renter  as  it  is  of  the  home 
ownei  to  take  an  interest  in  the  community  life  in  which  he  and 
his  family  share,  and  to  cooperate  with  his  neighbors  for  the 
common  good.  While  he  lives  in  the  community,  he  is  largely 
dependent  upon  it,  Uke  any  other  citizen,  for  the  satisfaction  of 
his  wants.  Its  streets  and  markets  and  shops  are  as  free  for 
him  as  for  others.  He  gets  the  benefit  of  its  schools  for  the 
education  of  his  children.  His  life,  his  health,  and  his  property 
are  protected  by  the  same  agencies  that  protect  those  of  his 
home-owning  neighbors.  He  cannot,  therefore,  escape  the 
responsibility  of  contributing  to  the  progress  of  his  community 
to  the  extent  of  his  ability. 

Is  home  ownership  increasing  or  decreasing  in  your  neighborhood? 
What  reasons  are  given  by  your  parents  and  others?  Consult  your  parents 
and  others  regarding  the  beneficial  or  detrimental  effects  upon  the  neighbor- 
hood of  this  increase  or  decrease.  Compare,  in  class,  the  results  from  the 
several  neighborhoods  represented  by  the  different  members  of  the  class. 

Does  experience  in  your  community  support  the  statement  that  home 
owners  are  likely  to  take  greater  interest  in  the  community  than  home  renters  ? 

Make  a  map  of  your  block,  and  upon  it  show  the  homes  that  are  owned 
by  their  occupants  and  those  that  are  rented.  What  per  cent  of  the  homes 
are  occupied  by  their  owners  ? 

What  benefits  from  the  community  does  a  home  owner  enjoy  that  a  home 
renter  does  not  enjoy?  What  responsibilities  does  the  home  owner  have  that 
the  home  renter  does  not  have?     Consult  your  parents. 

A  "home"  consists  of  very  much  more  than  a  dwelling  place ; 
yet  families  have  to  be  properly  housed  if  homes  are   to  be 


Il6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

thoroughly  happy  and  contribute  effectively  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  dwelling  be  costly 
The  housing  or  pretentious ;  some  homes  are  very  imperfect  in 
problem  spite  of  elaborate  dwelling  places.     But  no  home 

can  perform  its  full  service  to  its  members  or  to  the  community 
if  housed  in  unwholesome  or  very  unpleasant  conditions.  The 
housing  of  its  people  is  a  matter  of  first  importance  to  any  com- 
munity. ' 

The  rapid  growth  of  cities  (see  page  73)  has  brought  with  it  a 
serious  housing  problem.  Almost  every  city  has  its  over- 
Effect  of  crowded  residence  districts.  Population  often 
the  growth  grows  more  rapidly  than  housing  facilities  can  be 
0  ci  les  provided.  Frequently  transportation  facilities  are 
inadequate,  preventing  people  from  living  at^a  distance  from 
their  work,  and  causing  congestion  in  spots.  Foreign  elements 
in  the  population  tend  to  mass  themselves  in  restricted  dis- 
tricts in  accordance  with  nationality  or  race.  Lack  of  space  for 
separate  dwellings  leads  to  the  construction  of  apartment  or 
tenement  houses,  and  grasping  landlords  sometimes  seek  to 
increase  their  revenues  by  reducing  the  size,  and  thereby  in- 
creasing the  number,  of  rooms  and  apartments  in  a  building. 
Besides  all  this,  many  people  are  ignorant  with  respect  to  whole- 
some conditions  of  living. 

The  housing  problem  was  greatly  aggravated  during  the 
recent  war.  The  demand  for  workers  in  war  industries  caused 
Effect  of  a  sudden  great  increase  in  city  population,  while 

the  war  demand  for  labor  and  materials  for  war  purposes 

caused  an  almost  complete  cessation  of  building  operations. 
Thus  there  occurred  a  serious  shortage  of  housing  facilities  in 
practically  all  cities.  Those  who  crowded  into  industrial  centers 
found  living  conditions  too  often  unpleasant  and  unwholesome. 
People  cannot  do  their  work  well  when  they  live  in  unwholesome 
or  unpleasant  surroundings,  so  that  one  of  the  first  things  our 
government  had  to  do  was  to  provide  suitable  housing  facilities 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME 


117 


for  those  working  to  supply  its  needs.  During  the  first  year 
of  the  war  Congress  appropriated  $200,000,000  for  housing 
purposes. 


A  "Street"  in  Philadelphia 


Bad  housing  conditions  are  a  menace  to  the  community  in 
many  ways.     They  increase  fire  hazards.     They  endanger  the 
health  of  the  entire  community.     They  breed  vice  Regulation 
and  crime.     They  cause   depreciation  of  property  of  housing 
values.     They  increase   the  cost  of  government. 
For  these  reasons  cities  have  been  driven,  after  much  neglect, 
to  seek  a  remedy.     Nearly  all  large  cities  have    departments 
of    government    for    the    purpose  —  tenement  house   depart- 
ments, or  housing  bureaus  or  commissions —  and  laws  to  control 


ii8 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


building  so  as  to  secure  health  and  safety.  A  system  of  in- 
spection is  usually  maintained.  Sometimes  there  are  state 
laws  regulating  housing  in  all  cities  of  the  state.  In  some  cities 
voluntary  organizations  of  citizens  have  been  created  for  coopera- 
tion for  better  homes.  In  some  cases  "model  tenements" 
have  been  built  as  a  demonstration  of  the  possibility  of  pro- 


HoMES.FOR  Industrial  Workers 
Pressed  Steel  Car  Company,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


viding  homes  at  reasonable  cost,  but  still  yielding  a  profit  to  the 
promoters.  Interest  in  this  matter  has  been  greatly  stimulated 
as  a  result  of  the  conditions  produced  by  the  war. 

Cincinnati  affords  an  illustration  of  organization  for  the  promotion  of 
better  housing.  The  city  has  a  Housing  Bureau  in  the  Building  Depart- 
ment of  its  government,  and  a  Sanitary  Bureau  in  its  Health  Department, 
both  of  which  are  said  to  be  unusually  efficient.  But  in  addition,  there  is 
a  voluntary  organization  of  citizens  known  as  the  Better  Housing  League, 
which  is  supported  by  funds  contributed  by  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati 
to  the  "community  chest"  for  purposes  of  community  welfare. 

The  Better  Housing  League  maintains  a  number  of  "visiting  house- 
keepers," who  visit  and  supervise  every  house  in  districts  where  conditions 
are  not  what  they  should  bQ,  instructing  the  tenants  in  matters  pertaining 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  II9 

to  home-making,  and  seeking  the  cooperation  of  the  owners  of  the  dwelling, 
in  keeping  the  latter  in  good  repair. 

The  case  of  Cincinnati  described  above  illustrates  the  impor- 
tance which  cities  are  beginning  to  attribute  to  their  housing 
and  homemaking  problems.  It  also  illustrates  ^.^^^  ^^^.j^ 
the  necessity  of  team  work  in  meeting  these  prob-  in  home- 
lems  successfully.  Government  bureaus,  volun-  °^^  "^ 
tary  service  organizations,  landlords  and  tenants,  the  citizens 
generally,  all  have  to  work  together.  Even  the  children  have  a 
part.  Of  the  visiting  housekeeper  in  Cincinnati  it  is  said, 
"Often  her  best  ally  would  be  the  children,  who  could  be  en- 
couraged to  help  the  mother  with  the  housekeeping  or  to  take 
full  charge  of  caring  for  the  yard,  and  who  often  could  be  won 
over  when  the  parents  appeared  utterly  unresponsive."  The 
school  children  of  Cincinnati  are  organized  in  a  "Civic  and 
Vocational  League,"  which  gives  them  opportunity  to  participate 
in  movements  of  community  welfare.  They  have  cooperated  in 
the  better  housing  movement,  have  studied  the  subject  in  the 
schools,  and  have  had  an  essay  contest  on  the  subject,  "What 
I  have  done  to  improve  my  home  and  neighborhood."  ^ 

Has  your  city  a  housing  problem  ?  Is  it  more  of  a  problem  to-day  than 
before  the  war?     If  so,  in  what  way? 

Are  there  sections  of  your  city  in  which  population  is  greatly  congested  ? 
On  a  map  of  your  city  show  these  sections.  Why  has  congestion  occurred 
in  these  particular  sections  more  than  in  others? 

Find  out  what  fire  insurance  rates  are  in  the  congested  districts  of  your 
city  as  compared  with  those  of  less  crowded  districts.  If  there  is  a  differ- 
ence, why  is  it? 

From  the  health  reports  of  your  city  ascertain  in  what  sections  there  is 
the  most  sickness;  in  what  sections  the  highest  death  rate.  Show  these 
sections  on  your  map  and  compare  with  the  sections  of  crowded  population. 
What  is  meant  by  "death  rate"? 

Why  should  bad  housing  conditions  increase  the  cost  of  government  ?  Is 
it  true  that  they  do  so  in  your  city? 

1  This  information  regarding  Cincinnati  is  taken  from  The  American  City,  October, 
1920,  p.  375- 


I20 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Is  there  a  tenement  house  department,  or  housing  bureau,  or  other 
governmental  agency,  in  your  city  to  regulate  housing?  If  so,  get  copies  of 
its  reports  for  examination  in  class.  From  these  reports  or  other  sources  as- 
certain such  facts  as  the  following :  —  Kinds  of  work  done  by  the  department 
or  bureau;  the  worst  features  of  the  housing  situation  in  your  city ;  improve- 


Alley  Homes 


ments  recently  made  in  the  situation ;  who  is  in  charge  of  the  department 
or  bureau ;   how  he  (or  they)  is  appointed  or  chosen  for  the  work. 

What  voluntary  agencies  e.xist  in  your  city  to  deal  with  the  housing 
situation?     Get  copies  of  their  reports  for  study. 

If  any  governmental  or  voluntary  agencies  have  made  photographic 
illustrations  of  the  housing  conditions  in  your  city,  try  to  get  copies  for 
study.     (May  be  reproduced  in  printed  reports.) 

Who  is  responsible  for  bad  housing  conditions  in  your  city? 

Could  the  school  children  of  your  city  do  anything  to  improve  home 
conditions?  Would  a  "Better  Homes  League"  be  a  good  thing  in  your 
school  ? 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  121 

How  could  you  find  out  about  the  organization  and  work  of  the  Civic 
and  Vocational  League  of  Cincinnati? 

What  impression  would  a  stranger  get  with  regard  to  the  "community 
spirit"  of  your  city  or  neighborhood  from  the  appearance  of  its  homes? 
Would  he  be  right? 

One  reason  for  bad  housing  conditions  is  the  fact  that  our 
cities  have  been  allowed  to  grow  up  without  plan.  The  city  of 
Washington  is  the  one  conspicuous  example  in  the  city 
United  States  of  a  city  built  according  to  a  plan  Planning 
carefully  made  in  the  beginning,  the  result  being  a  city  of  ex- 
ceptional beauty.  Two  other  facts  have  tended  to  preserve 
Washington  as  "a  city  of  homes."  One  of  these  is  the  ample 
space  available  for  expansion,  and  the  other  is  the  almost  entire 
absence  of  industrial  life  and  its  accompaniment  of  factory 
districts.  Other  influences  have  been  at  work,  however,  even 
in  Washington,  to  prevent  the  fullest  development  of  home  life, 
and  even  resulting  in  bad  housing  conditions. 

The  District  of  Columbia,  in  which  the  nation's  capital  is 
situated,  comprises  70  square  miles  of  land  which  was  ceded 
to  the  nation  by  the  state  of  Maryland.^  Instead  The  nation's 
of  retaining  direct  control  over  all  this  land,  the  capital 
government  sold  a  large  part  of  it  for  private  use.  This  resulted, 
for  one  thing,  in  the  construction  of  many  buildings  wholly 
out  of  harmony  with  the  original  plan.  Under  private  ownership, 
also,  land  speculation  has  occurred,  and  land  values  have 
enormously  increased,  especially  in  certain  sections.  One  result 
is  that,  while  large  areas  of  land  within  the  city  still  remain 
unimproved,  in  other  sections,  even  in  the  best  parts  of  the  city, 
dwellings  have  been  crowded  together  in  unattractive  rows 
with  Httle  or  no  yard  space.  Worse  than  this,  actual  "slum" 
districts  were  allowed  to  develop  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  even 
narrow  alleys  becoming  occupied  with  unsanitary  dwellings. 
The  worst  of  these  conditions  have  been  rectified,  but  at  much 

1  The  District  originally  included  an  area  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac,  but 
this  was  ceded  back  to  Virginia. 


122  COMMUNITY  CI\^CS 

greater  cost  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  they  had  been 
prevented  in  the  beginning. 

Another  thing  that  has  influenced  the  housing  situation  in  our 
capital  city  is  the  proportionately  large  population  connected 
Apartment  with  the  government  and  living  in  the  city  only 
houses  temporarily.     One  result  of  this  is  a  remarkably 

large  number  of  apartment  houses  for  a  city  with  as  much 
space  as  Washington  has.     They  have   sprung  up  in  all  parts 


Why  "Zoning"  is  Necessary 

of  the  city.  Some  of  them  are  attractive  in  appearance,  others 
are  not.  In  some  cases  the  ground  floor  is  occupied  by  shops  of 
various  kinds,  which  have  been  rapidly  encroaching  upon  the 
residential  districts  of  the  city.  Like  many  other  cities,  Wash- 
ington is  now  trying  to  correct  this  situation  by  the  adoption 
of  what  is  known  as  the  "zoning  system."  This  is  a  plan  by 
which  to  regulate  the  types  of  buildings  that  may  be  constructed 
in  various  "zones,"  or  areas,  of  the  city.  By  it  business  estab- 
lishments are  excluded  from  certain  districts,  the  height  of 
buildings  regulated,  and  so  on. 

In  the  city  of  Cleveland,  where  the  right  of  the  city  to  restrict 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  1 23 

the  building  of  apartment  houses  was  questioned,  a  decision 
was  rendered  in  one  of  the  courts,  in  which  the  following  state- 
ments were  made: 

"It  would  seem  that  there  could  be  no  two  opinions  upon  the  proposition 
that  the  apartment  house,  or  tenement,  in  a  section  of  private  residences, 
is  a  nuisance  to  those  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  ...  It  shuts  off  the  light 
and  air  from  its  neighbors,  it  invades  their  privacy,  it  spreads  smoke  and 
soot  throughout  the  neighborhood.  The  noise  of  constant  deliveries  is  almost 
continuous.  The  fire  hazard  is  recognized  to  be  increased.  .  .  .  The  dan- 
ger of  the  spread  of  disease  is  undoubtedly  increased,  however  little,  where  a 
number  of  families  use  a  common  hallway  and  common  front  and  rear 
stairways. 

"The  erection  of  one  apartment  house  in  a  district  of  private  homes 
would  seriously  affect  only  those  persons  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
thereof,  but  the  common  experience  is  that  the  erection  of  one  apartment 
drives  out  the  single  residences  adjacent  thereto,  to  make  way  for  more 
apartments.  The  result  is  that,  in  time,  and  not  a  very  great  time,  when 
one  apartment  is  erected,  the  whole  street  is  given  over  to  apartment  houses. 

"The  apartment  house  is,  for  many,  a  desirable  convenience,  and  for 
some  a  necessity.  .  .  .  Their  erection  should  not  be  prohibited.  .  .  . 
Private  residences,  with  yards  for  play  space,  with  grass,  trees,  and  flowers 
are  necessities  for  people  with  children,  and  as  much  a  convenience  to  the 
people  without  children  who  take  an  old-fashioned  pride  in  owning  their 
homes,  as  is  the  apartment  house  to  those  who  are  willing  to  accept  its 
restrictions  for  its  compensatory  freedom  from  responsibilities.  It  is  at 
■  least  as  important  to  the  community  to  preserve  the  private  home  for  this 
class  as  it  is  to  provide  the  apartment  for  the  first. 

"Under  this  zoning  ordinance  the  private  home  is  preserved  and  the 
apartment  house  is  provided.  .  .  .  The  necessities  or  convenience  of  those 
who  live  in  them"  (the  apartments)  "will  be  served  thus  with  the  least 
sacrifice  of  the  necessities  and  convenience  of  others."  ^ 

Study  the  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington  shown  on  page  214.  In  what 
respects  does  it  differ  from  the  plan  of  your  city? 

Make  a  report  on  "city  planning,"  especially  as  it  relates  to  better  homes. 

Is  there  a  city  planning  movement  in  your  city?  If  so,  how  does  it 
propose  to  deal  with  the  housing  problem? 

Report  on  the  increase  of  apartment  houses  in  your  city,  and  in  your 
neighborhood.     Discuss  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  such  increase. 

1  Decision  of  Judge  Kramer,  April  .so,  1920 ;  quoted  in  The  American  City,  August. 
jg2o,  p.  140. 


124 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Report  on  the  "zoning  system"  — :  in  your  own  city  if  it  is  applied  there; 
if  not,  in  other  cities  (see  references). 

Is  what  Judge  Kramer  says  in  the  second  paragraph  quoted  above  true  in 
your  city?  Discuss  the  justice  of  what  he  says  in  the  third  and  fourth 
paragraphs. 


A  Domestic  Relations  Court 
Where  family  difficulties  are  often  adjusted 


Living  conditions,  such  as  we  have  been  discussing  in  the 
preceding  paragraphs,  are  only  one  of  the  factors  in  the  making 
Stability  of  of  the  home.  Even  more  important  are  the 
the  family  relations  that  exist  among  the  members  of  the 
family.  If  it  is  true  that  the  strength  of  a  nation  depends 
largely  upon  the  stabiHty  of  its  homes,  it  is  startling  to  learn 
that  in  the  United  States  homes  are  broken  up  by  the  divorce 
of  husband  and  wife  more  frequently  than  in  any  other  civilized 
country.  According  to  recent  statistics  there  is  in  England, 
for  example,  one  divorce  to  every  four  hundred  marriages, 
while  in  the  United  States  there  is  one  to  every  twelve  marriages  ! 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  1 25 

The  number  of  divorces  in  our  country  during  a  period  of  years 
increased  three  times  as  rapidly  as  the  population.  Divorce 
is  due,  of  course,  to  unhappy  conditions  in  the  home,  which  are 
themselves  harmful.  The  increasing  frequency  of  divorce 
does  not  necessarily  indicate  that  there  are  more  unhappy 
homes  than  formerly;  it  may  merely  be  an  indication  of  a 
greater  inclination  on  the  part  of  husband  and  wife  to  end  the 
unhappiness  by  separation. 

For  example,  the  kinds  of  occupations  open  to  women  have  increased 
rapidly  in  number  during  recent  years.  This  has  brought  many  advantages 
to  women,  and  will  no  doubt  prove  a  good  thing  for  the  community. 
But  the  very  fact  that  it  has  increased  women's  independence  of  men  for 
support  has  doubtless  led,  in  many  cases,  to  a  postponement  of  marriage 
and  made  it  less  necessary  for  women  to  submit  to  unhappy  conditions  in 
the  home. 

A  great  many  things  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in 
deciding  which  is  the  greater  of  the  two  evils  —  the  breaking  up 
of  the  home  to  end  unhappy  conditions,  or  to  put  .j-j^^  welfare 
up  with  the  unhappy  conditions  in  the  home  for   of  the 
the  sake  of  holding  the  family  together.     In  neither  ^ 
case  can  the  home  perform  its  full  service  to  its  members  or 
to  the  community.     One  of  the  chief  considerations  is  the  wel- 
fare   of    the    children.     Fortunately,    the    records    show    that 
divorce  occurs  less  frequently  in  homes  where  there  are  children, 
and  this  suggests  the  importance  of  children  as  a  factor  in  giving 
stability  to  the  home.     And  yet  there  are  children  in  about  forty 
per  cent  of  the  homes  where  divorce  occurs. 

One  of  the  points  in  community  life  where  religious  influence 
is  greatest   (see  page  5)  is  in  connection  with  the  institution 
of  the  family.     In  the  early  days  of  the  Christian 
Church  marriage  was   considered  as  a  sacred  rite  influence 
and  was  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  Church,   i"  family 
Once  entered  into,  it  could  not  be  dissolved.     The 
Roman  and  Greek  Catholic  Churches  still  look  upon  it  in  this 
way,  so  that  divorce  rarely  occurs  among  their  members.     A 


126  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

religious  view  of  marriage  is  by  no  means  absent  among  Chris- 
tians of  Protestant  denominations,  nor.  among  other  reUgious 
sects,  such  as  the  Jews.  It  is  customary  for  the  marriage 
ceremony  to  be  performed  by  a  clergyman,  and  the  Church 
usually  frowns  upon  divorce  even  if  it  does  not  forbid  it  as  does 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  any  case,  the  religious  view 
of  marriage  as  a  sacred  institution  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
influences  for  the  stability  of  the  home. 

But  marriage  is  no  longer  entirely  under  the  control  of  the 
Church.  It  is  regulated  by  civil  law.  Unless  religious  views 
^.  -  ..  prevent  it,  as  in  the  case  of  Roman  Catholics, 
under  civil  persons  may  be  married  by  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
*^  or  other  civil  magistrate ;  and  in  any  case,  the  civil 

law  requires  that  certain  conditions  shall  be  fulfilled  before 
marriage  is  permitted.  Thus,  the  contracting  parties  must  have 
reached  a  prescribed  age,  and  a  license  to  marry  must  be  ob- 
tained from  the  proper  legal  authorities.  It  is  the  civil  law,  also, 
that  permits  and  regulates  divorce.  Since  marriage  and 
divorce  are  regulated  by  state  law,  and  not  by  national  law, 
there  is  great  variation  in  the  effectiveness  of  the  regulation  in 
the  different  states.  Some  states  are  very  lax  in  the  matter. 
It  is  believed  that  one  step  necessary  to  secure  greater  stability 
in  family  life  in  the  United  States  is  to  secure  closer  agreement 
among  the  states  with  respect  to  these  laws,  as  well  as  greater 
care  in  their  enforcement. 

What  is  the  legal  age  for  marriage  in  your  state?  What  other  require- 
ments must  be  met  in  your  state  before  a  young  man  and  young  woman  may 
be  married? 

Where  does  one  go,  in  your  city,  to  obtain  a  marriage  license?  Why 
should  a  marriage  license  be  required? 

Look,  in  your  daily  paper  for  a  list  of  marriage  licenses  issued.  Why 
is  such  a  list  published?  If  you  were  a  newspaper  reporter,  where  would 
you  obtain  such  a  list? 

What  other  "statistics"  are  published  in  your  daily  paper,  probably  in 
the  same  column  with  the  list  of  marriage  licenses?  Why  are  these  called 
"vital  statistics"? 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME 


127 


When  a  marriage  is  performed  there  must  be  witnesses.  Why  is  this? 
Do  the  witnesses  and  the  clergyman  who  performs  the  marriage  have  to 
sign  anything?     What  do  they  sign,  and  why? 

Why  would  greater  uniformity  in  the  marriage  and  divorce  laws  of  the 
several  states  tend  to  create  greater  stability  of  the  family? 

If  uniformity  of  such  laws  is  desirable,  why  does  not  the  national  govern- 
ment control  the  matter  instead  of  leaving  it  to  the  several  states? 

What  does  "civil"  law  mean?     What  other  kinds  of  law  arc  there? 


A  Tenement  Home  Occupation 
Making  artificial  flowers 

The  most  important  thing,  however,  is  to  remove,  as   far  as 
possible,  the  causes  that  produce  unhappy  homes.     Bad  housing 
conditions  are  one  of  these ;    but  there  are  many   ^3^533  ^f 
others.     Home  life  has  been  seriously  affected  by  unhappy 
great  changes  that  have  occurred  in  community     °™^ 
life,  and  this  is  especially  true  in  cities.     In  the  early  days  of  our 
nation,  occupations  were  largely  carried  on  in  the  home,  and 
were  largely  a  family  enterprise.     The  invention  of  machinery 
changed  all  this.     It  caused  the  growth  of  factories  where  men 
work  from  early  morning  until  late  in  the  day  to  support  their 
families.     In  large   cities   business  and  professional  men   are 
also  away  from  home  all  day.     Fathers  thus  often  have  little 


128  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

chance  to  get  really  acquainted  with  their  families,  especially 
their  children.  Even  more  serious  is  the  fact  that  the  modern 
industrial  system  makes  possible,  and  the  increasing  difficulty 
of  supporting  a  family  often  requires,  the  entrance  of  women, 
and  even  of  children,  into  occupations  outside  of  the  home. 
Of  course,  such  conditions  do  not  necessarily  cause  unhappy 
homes ;  but  they  disturb  home  life  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
and  sometimes  disastrously.  If  the  occupations  in  which  the 
members  of  the  family  are  engaged,  especially  those  of  the 
women  and  the  children,  are  such  as  to  be  physically  or  mentally 
exhausting,  or  a  drain  upon  the  health,  the  best  home  life  is 
practically  impossible. 

City  life  has  brought  with  it  other  conditions  that  tend  to 
disturb  home  life,  among  those  who  are  well-to-do  quite  as 
Effect  of  life  much  as  among  the  less  prosperous.  The  fact, 
in  cities  referred  to  earlier  in  this  chapter,  that  many  agen- 

cies exist  to  relieve  the  home  of  its  responsibility  in  many 
things,  leads  in  this  direction.  Where  children,  for  example,  are 
relieved  of  the  necessity  or  the  opportunity  of  sharing  in  the 
responsibility  of  housekeeping  tasks,  they  lose  valuable  expe- 
rience in  matters  pertaining  to  home-making.  The  numerous 
opportunities  for  amusement  and  recreation  afforded  by  the 
city  have  their  good  side ;  but  they  may,  and  often  do,  take  the 
interest,  not  only  of  children  but  also  of  their  elders,  away  from 
the  home.  The  city  offers  many  and  varied  temptations  to 
dissipation,  which  is  always  destructive  of  the  well-being  of 
the  home. 

Cities  and  states  have  a  variety  of  laws  to  control  vice  and 

immorality ;    to  regulate  amusements ;    to  prohibit  or  regulate 

child  labor;    to  protect  the  health  of  men  and 
Laws  that  '  '^ 

safeguard         women  while  at  work;    to  prevent  accidents  to 

the  home  workers ;   to  prohibit  the  employment  of  women  in 

certain  kinds  of  occupations ;  to  limit  the  length  of  the  working 

day;   to  regulate  the  "  sweat  shop  "  ;   to  provide  a  living  wage  ; 


THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  HOME  129 

to  provide  for  mothers'  pensions,  and  other  forms  of  "social 
insurance."  The  importance  of  such  laws  lies  largely  in  the 
protection  they  give  to  the  home.  The  school  also  has  a  great 
responsibility  both  for  the  training  of  home-makers  and  for  the 
creation  of  ideals  among  young  citizens  that  will  protect  the 
home  both  now  and  later. 

It  needs  to  be  remembered  that  the  home  exists  primarily 
for  the  children ;  its  greatest  service  is  in  the  rearing  of  children 
in  order  that  they  may  get  a  fair  start  in  life  for  a  school 
themselves,  and  also  in.  order  that  they  may  be  °^  citizenship 
thoroughly  efficient  members  of  the  community.  The  family 
has  been  called  a  "  school  of  all  the  virtues  "  that  go  to  make  good 
citizenship.  There  are  developed  thoughtfulness  for  others, 
a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  service  for  the  common  good, 
loyalty  to  the  group,  respect  for  the  opinions  of  others  of  long 
experience,  a  spirit  of  team  work^  obedience  to  rules  that  exist 
for  the  welfare  of  all.  If  these  things  are  not  cultivated 
in  the  home,  it  is  not  in  a  healthy  condition  nor  performing  its 
proper  service  to  the  community. 

The  exercise  of  these  virtues  in  the  home  is  not  only  training 
for  good  citizenship ;  it  is  good  citizenship.  If  the  home  is  as 
important  a  factor  in  our  national  life  as  this  chapter  has  indi- 
cated, then  one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  for  good  citizen- 
ship, and  one  of  the  greatest  duties  of  good  citizenship,  is  that  of 
making  the  home  what  it  should  be.  In  this  each  member  of  the 
family  has  his  or  her  share  of  responsibility. 

In  what  ways  has  household  work  been  relieved  of  its  drudgery  since 
your  mothers  were  girls? 

What  labor-saving  devices  have  been  introduced  in  your  home? 

Make  a  report  on  labor-saving  devices  for  the  household  (see  references). 

What  are  some  labor-saving  household  devices  that  could  be  made  by 
boys  and  girls?     Can  your  school  help  in  such  projects? 

How  may  laws  regulating  or  abolishing  the  liquor  traffic  affect  the  home  ? 
Laws  regulating  gambling? 

What  laws  exist  in  your  community  to  regulate  amusements?  How  do 
these  affect  the  home? 


130  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  is  a  "sweat  shop"?  Do  sweat  shops  exist  in  your  city?  Are  they 
regulated?     In  what  ways  do  they  affect  home  life? 

What  is  a  "living  wage"? 

In  what  ways  does  your  school  train  home  makers? 

W^rite  a  theme  on  "Citizenship  in  the  home." 

Make  a  report  on  the  importance  of  the  home  in  rural  life  in  America  (see 
Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chaps,  ix  and  x). 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  C:  Lesson  20,  "The  Family  and  Social  Control." 
Lesson  32,  "Housing  for  Workers." 

For  an  extensive  list  of  titles  of  publications  relating  to  the  home,  send  to  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  for  its  Bulletin,  1919,  No.  46,  "Bibliography  of 
Home  Economics,"  especially  section  viii  on  "The  Family,"  and  section  x  on  "The 
House  and  Household  Activities."     Among  the  many  titles  given  in  this  are: 

Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Home  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 

Gillette,  J.  M.,  The  Family  and  Society  (A.  C.  McClurg). 

Thwing  and  Butler,  The  Family  (Lothrop,  Lee  and  Shepard  Co.). 

Gilman,  Charlotte  P.,  The  Home  (Doubleday,  Page  and  Co.). 

Talbot  and  Breckenridge,  The  Modern  Household  (Whitcomb  and  Barrows,  Boston) . 

Addams,  Jane,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets  (Macmillan). 

EUwood,  Charles  A.,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  chapters  on  the  family 
(American  Book  Co.). 

Scott,  Rhea,  Home  Labor-Saving  Devices  (Lippincott). 
Pamphlets  published  by  the  National   Housing  Association,   105   East  22nd  St., 
New  York.    For  example: 

What  bad  housing  means  to  the  community. 

One  million  people  in  small  houses. 

Industrial  housing. 

The  districting  of  cities  ("zoning"). 

Organizing  the  housing  work  of  a  community. 
Pamphlets  published  by  the  American  Civic  Association,  Union  Trust   Building, 
Washington,  D.  C: 

City  planning.  / 

A  good  home  for  every  wage  earner. 

What  makes  a  town  good. 
The  American  City  Bureau,  154  Nassau  St.,  New  York  City.  Write  for  publications 

on  housing,  etc. 
Nolen,  John:   New  Ideals  in  the  Planning  of  Cities,  Towns,  and  Villages.   (American 

City  Bureau,  New  York.) 
Towne,  E.  T.:  Social  Problems  (Macmillan),  chap,  xii.  Marriage  and  Divorce. 
Burch   and   Patterson,   American  Social  Problems    (Macmillan),    chap,   xxii.   The 
Problem  of  Divorce. 


CHAPTER  X 

EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 

Both  the  efficiency  and  the  democracy  of  a  community  de- 
pend upon  the  extent  and  the  kind  of  education  it  affords  to 
its  people.  In  a  nation  whose  aim  is  to  afford  to  Democracy 
every  citizen  an  equal  opportunity  to  make  the  depends  upon 
most  of  himself  and  whose  people  are  self-govern- 
ing, education  must  be  widespread,  it  must  develop  the  power 
of  self-direction,  it  must  train  leaders,  and  it  must  enable  the 
people  to  choose  their  leaders  intelligently.  When  Governor 
Berkeley  of  Virginia  reported  to  the  king  of  England  in  1671, 
"I  thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools  nor  printing;  and  I  hope 
we  shall  not  have  these  hundred  years,"  he  spoke  for  the  auto- 
cratic form  of  government  which  a  hundred  years  later  led  the 
colonies  to  revolt. 

In  a  democracy  government  must  be  carried  on  largely  by 
means  of  education.  We  had  abundant  illustration  during  the 
recent  war  of  the  extent  to  which  our  government  Government 
not  only  depended  upon  highly  educated  men  and  by  means  of 
women  for  leadership,  but  also  educated  the  people 
to  do  the  things  necessary  to  win  the  war.  (For  illustrations, 
see  pp.  89-91.)  Since  the  aim  of  democratic  government  is  to 
secure  team  work  in  public  affairs,  the  people  must  have  the 
tools  of  team  work,  such  as  a  common  language,  and  other 
knowledge  that  makes  living  and  working  together  possible; 
they  must  have  training  that  will  enable  them  to  contribute 
effectively  to  the  community's  work,  and  to  understand  the 
community's  aims  and  ideals.    And  since  government  is  con- 

131 


132 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


trolled  largely   by   public  opinion,  the  people  must   have  an 
intelligent  understanding  of  the  community's  problems. 

These  facts  explain  why  public  education  is  the  largest  single 
item  of  expense  in  our  government  (except  in  time  of  war).  In 
The  cost  of  1 914  nearly  600  million  dollars  were  spent  for  public 
education  elementary  and  high  schools.  Some  200  million 
dollars  more  were  spent  for  private  schools,  and  for  universities, 


A  Pioneer  Schoolhouse  (1828) 


colleges,  and  normal  schools,  some  of  which  are  public  and  some 
private. 

If  democracy  is  to  be  safe  and  efficient,  every  member  must 
have  a  reasonable  amount  of  education.  Every  state  has  a 
Ineoualitv  of  Compulsory  education  law,  though  these  laws  vary 
educational  greatly.  In  some  states  every  child  must  attend 
requiremen  s  g^j^^^^  f^j.  ggven  years  (7  to  14,  or  8  to  15).  In  other 
states  the  period  is  less,  sometimes  as  httle  as  four  years.  In 
most  of  the  states  there  is  an  additional  period,  usually  of  two 
years  (14  to  16),  during  which  children  must  remain  in  school 
unless  they  go  to  work.  As  a  rule  there  are  laws  that  forbid  the 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  1 33 

employment  of  children  in  industry  before  the  age  of  14.  In 
some  states  they  may  go  to  work  as  soon  as  they  reach  the  age 
limit  regardless  of  what  their  educational  qualifications  are; 
in  others  they  must  have  completed  the  eight  grades  of  the 
elementary  school;  in  others  they  need  only  to  be  able  to  read 
and  write;  in  still  others  they  must  have  finished  the  third, 
fourth,  or  other  grades,  as  the  case  may  be.  In  Massachusetts 
pupils  must  remain  in  school  until  they  have  completed  the 
fourth  grade,  and  in  New  York  until  they  can  read  and  write, 
even  if  they  remain  until  they  are  21  to  do  it. 

The  length  of  the  school  term  required  by  law  varies  from 
three  months  in  three  states  to  nine  months  in  six  states.  Several 
states  have  no  requirement  in  this  matter.  The  inequality  of 
length  of  time'  that  a  pupil  must  be  in  school  during  educational 
each  of  the  compulsory  years  varies  from  sixty 
days  to  the  full  school  term,  whatever  that  may  be.  In  most 
states,  but  not  in  all,  the  required  attendance  must  be  during 
consecutive  days  or  weeks.  The  compulsory  school  laws  are 
not  well  enforced  in  some  states.  The  table  on  page  134  shows 
the  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  and  out  of  school  in  the 
several  states  in  1915-1916.  For  the  country  as  a  whole,  17.4 
per  cent  of  the  children  of  school  age  were  not  in  school. 

"School  terms  are  so  short  in  many  states  and  compulsory 
attendance  is  so  badly  enforced  that  the  school  life  of  the  average 
person  growing  up  in  rural  sections  is  only  4.5  school  years  of 
140  days  each.  In  urban  communities  conditions  are  better, 
but  far  from  satisfactory."  ^ 

The  table  on  page  135  shows  the  number  of  days  the  public 
schools  were  open,  the  average  number  of  days  of  attendance  by 
each  pupil  enrolled,  and  the  rank  of  the  state  in  each  case,  for 
each  state  in  the  school  year  1915-1916. 

1  Bulletin.  1919,  No.  4,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education,  "A  Manual  of  Educational 
Legislation,"  p.  6. 


134 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


School  Year  and  Attendance 

Average  number  of  days  public  sch.-^ols  were  kept  open,  average  number  of  days  of  attendance 
by  each  pupil  enrolled,  and  average  per  cent  of  attendance  in  each  state  in  1915-16* 


Location 


Days  Schools 
Were  Open 


Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho     

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky   

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico 

New  York 

North  Carolina         .... 

North  Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island 

South  Carolina 

South  Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia      

Washington 

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 

United  States  (continental) 


Rank 


38 
28 
39 


40 
37 
30 
23 
29 
19 
24 
34 
39 
17 

6 

5 
15 
20 
43 
27 

7 
25 
22 
16 

4 
35 

2 
41 
14 

9 
32 
33 
13 

I 
44 
19 
42 
38 
26 
10 
36 
II 
38 


Number 


135-0 
160.0 
134-9 
176.0 
167.0 
183.2 
170.7 
130.1 
136.7 

'  1549 
164.0 
1550 
170.0 
163.7 
144.0 
134-9 
171.2 
178.0 
181. 7 

'  172.0 
167.7 

2  123.0 
161.8 
176.7 
163-S 
166. 1 
171-5 

1  183.0 
142-5 
190.2 
124.2 

1  172.6 
175-3 
152-0 
151-0 
172.7 
194-3 
108.5 
170.0 
123-8 
I35-0 
163.0 
175-0 
141. o 
174.6 
135-0 
173-7 
IS3-0 


Days  Attended 


Average 


160.3 


84.8 
107.3 
91.7 
134.0 
122.0 
142-5 
93-5 
94-7 
98-9 
105.2 
147-3 
127.4 
12S.8 
126.5 

95-0 

99-4 
133-8 
124.0 
153-0 
139-9 
127-3 
^75-4 
118.5 
129.4 
3  120.8 
124.9 
138-5 
142.9 

95-0 
154-3 

85-4 
II9-5 
148.9 

95-9 
135-4 
139-1 
154-8 

72.9 
118.9 

87-3 

91.8 
132-S 
140.2 

98.4 
136.2 

96.3 
140.9 
117. o 


Per  Cent 


62.9 
67.1 

1  68.0 
76.2 
73-1 
77-8 
54-8 
72.8 
69.0 

'  72.0 
89-8 
82.2 
75-8 
77-3 
65-9 
73-7 
78.2 
69-7 
84.2 
81-3 
75-9 

2  61.3 
73-2 
73-2 
73-9 
75-2 
80.8 
78.1 
66.7 


120.9 


Ran> 


68.7 

37 

69.2 

35 

84-9 

3 

63-1 

42 

89-7 

2 

80.6 

11 

79-7 

13 

67-1 

39 

70.0 

32 

70.5 

31 

68.0 

38 

81.2 

7 

80.1 

12 

69.8 

33 

78.0 

16 

71-3 

30 

81.0 

9 

76.5 

19 

43 
39 
38 
20 
27 
17 
45 
28 
36 
29 


18 
41 
25 
14 
34 
4 
6 
21 
44 
26 
26 
24 
23 
10 
IS 
40 


*  From  statistics,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education, 
^  Statistics,  1913-14.  » Estimated, 


1  Statistics,  1914-15- 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


135 


Children  In  and  Out  of  Sciioot. 

(U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  statistics,  1915-16) 


Number 

Per  Cent 

Number 

Per  Cent 

IN 

Private 
Schools 

NtJMBER 

Per  Cent 

Location 

Rank 

IN  Public 
Schools 

IN  Public 
Schools 

IN 

Private 
Schools 

NOT   IN 

School 

NOT   IN 

School 

Alabama      .     . 

43 

514,601 

69.1 

17,187 

2-5 

208,815 

28.4 

Arizona  .     .     . 

14 

51,077 

81.7 

3,367 

5-4 

8,164 

12.9 

Arkansas      .     . 

24 

447,726 

82.0 

6,133 

I.I 

92,240 

16.9 

California    .     . 

539,688 

— 

33,000 

— 

— 

— 

Colorado      .     . 

20 

184,471 

82.0 

7,000 

31 

33,651 

14.9 

Connecticut 

— 

234,609 

82.1 

52,293 

— 

1,419 

— 

Delaware     .     . 

2 

45,327 

85.9 

5,000 

9-5 

2,442 

4.6 

Florida    .     .     . 

28 

198,36s 

77-2 

8,500 

3-3 

49,657 

19s 

Georgia 

41 

667,635 

73-2 

10,000 

I.I 

234,592 

25-7 

Idaho 

IS 

95,772 

84-7 

2,500 

2.2 

14,832 

131 

Illinois 

19 

1,084,640 

71.8 

213,760 

14.0 

215,730 

14.2 

Indiana 

18 

564,252 

80.2 

40,000 

5-7 

99,389 

14.1 

Iowa  . 

I 

525,579 

90.0 

4  2 ,000 

7.2 

15,699 

2.8 

Kansas 

17 

402,860 

83.3 

16,051 

3-3 

64,820 

13-4 

Kentucky     .     . 

26 

537,008 

76.8 

33,352 

4.8 

129,016 

18.4 

Louisiana     .     . 

45 

320,400 

55-7 

38,159 

6.7 

214,412 

37-6 

Maine     .     .     . 

3 

149,149 

84-3 

17,207 

9.8 

10,467 

5-9 

Maryland    .     . 

7 

243,077 

68.0 

30,000 

23.6 

84,387 

8.4 

Massachusetts 

12 

604,023 

72.8 

122 ,000 

147 

104,092 

12.5 

Michigan     .     . 

6 

620,861 

82.8 

72,982 

9-5 

•     57,651 

7-7 

Minnesota   .     . 

21 

481,583 

7S.0 

38,000 

6.2 

97,733 

iS-8 

Mississippi  .     . 

31 

492,756 

77-6 

7,500 

I.I 

135,014 

21.3 

Missouri       .     . 

10 

721,752 

81.0 

65,000 

7-4 

103,438 

1 1. 6 

Montana      .     . 

— 

102,768 

— 

7,000 

— 

— 

— 

Nebraska     .     . 

II 

292,725 

84.8 

1 2 ,000 

3-5 

40,326 

II. 7 

Nevada   .     .  _  . 

35 

13,358 

76.3 

309 

1-7 

3,848 

22.0 

New  Hampshire 

9 

67,461 

68.7 

21,689 

22.0 

9,042 

9-3 

New  Jersey 

23 

540,287 

76.4 

48,000 

6.8 

118,942 

16.8 

New  Mexico     . 

44 

77,062 

64.8 

5,589 

4-7 

36,290 

30.S 

New  York    .     . 

27 

1,625,777 

695 

278,000 

11.8 

432,388 

18.7 

North  Carolina 

13 

640,246 

84.0 

25,000 

3-2 

87,994 

12.8 

North  Dakota  . 

40 

151,647 

730 

3,500 

1.6 

52,864 

25-4 

Ohio   .     .     .     . 

22 

905,071 

74-3 

120,000 

9.8 

192,474 

159 

Oklahoma    .     . 

32 

515,493 

76.4 

14,915 

2.2 

145,190 

21.4 

Oregon     .     .     . 

25 

142,365 

77.6 

7,794 

4.2 

33,286 

18.2 

Pennsylvania   . 

30 

1,504,794 

70.8 

180,000 

8.5 

438,892 

20.7 

Rhode  Island    . 

34 

89,879 

63.2 

21,646 

15-2 

30,627 

21.6 

South  Carolina 

3i 

415,766 

76.6 

10,000 

1-9 

116,817 

21.S 

South  Dakota  . 

42 

134,136 

69-5 

4,500 

2.2 

54,771 

28.3 

Tennessee    .     . 

4 

610,235 

88.8 

27,000 

4.0 

49,752 

7.2 

Texas      .     .     . 

39 

1,017,083 

73 -o 

28,000 

2.0 

343,143 

25.0 

Utah  .     .     .     . 

8 

io8,3S9 

86.0 

7,000 

5-4 

10,699 

8.6 

Vermont      .     . 

16 

65,380 

77-3 

8,000 

9-4 

11,289 

13-3 

Virginia  . 

38 

486,134 

73-1 

17,568 

2.6 

172,014 

24-3 

Washington 

37 

245,419 

730 

10,261 

30 

80,468 

24.0 

West  Virginia  . 

29 

313,873 

78.2 

4,839 

1-3 

82,407 

20.5 

Wisconsin     .     . 

36 

458,102 

66.8 

70,000 

10.2 

158,244 

23.0 

Wyoming     .     . 

5 

32,630 

88.0 

1,600 

4.4 

2,831 

7.6 

United 

States 

— 

20,351,687 

75.8 

1,820,210 

6.8 

4,675,079 

17.4 

136  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Why  would  it  not  be  more  democratic  to  permit  children  to  attend 
school  or  not  as  they  or  their  parents  wish? 

Discuss  the  statement  that  "education  makes  people  free."  Compare 
this  statement  with  a  somewhat  similar  statement  made  on  page  112. 

What  is  the  compulsory  school  age  in  your  state? 

Is  wide  variation  in  the  compulsory  school  age  among  the  different 
states  a  good  thing?   Why? 

Is  the  compulsory  school  law  rigidly  enforced  in  your  state?  How  is  it 
enforced? 

How  much  of  each  year  must  a  child  spend  in  school  during  the  com- 
pulsory period  in  your  state? 

Investigate  the  reasons  given  by  pupils  in  your  community  for  leaving 
school  before  completing  the  course,  and  report. 

What  rank  does  your  state  hold  with  respect  to  length  of  term?  to  average 
daily  attendance  of  pupils?     (See  table.) 

What  rank  does  your  state  hold  with  respect  to  number  of  children  of 
school  age  in  and  out  of  school?    (See  table.) 

Get  from  your  teacher  or  principal  the  average  daily  attendance  for 
each  pupil  enrolled  in  your  school;  in  your  city.  Do  you  think  this  record 
could  be  improved? 

It  is  advocated  by  many  that  schools  should  be  open  the  year  round. 
What  advantages  can  you  see  in  the  plan?    Debate  the  question. 

Public  education  was  long  restricted  to  the  elementary  school. 
High  schools  were  at  first  private  academies  designed  to  prepare 
Development  ^^^  college  the  few  who  wished  to  continue  their 
of  the  education.    While  they  still  continue  to  give  prepa- 

ig  sc  00  ration  for  college,  their  development  in  recent 
years  has  been  largely  for  the  benefit  of  the  greater  number  of 
boys  and  girls  who  do  not  expect  to  go  to  college.  Attendance 
at  high  school  has  rapidly  increased  in  recent  years.  The  high 
school  not  only  affords  to  those  who  attend  a  better  equipment 
for  their  life's  work,  but  it  also  attracts  the  more  ambitious 
young  citizens  who  have  a  desire  and  the  ability  to  assume  places 
of  leadership  in  the  community. 

What  has  been  the  history  of  high  school  development  in  your  community? 
What  percentage  of  pupils  in  your  community  go  to  high  school  after 
completing  the«  elementary  school? 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


137 


Write  a  theme  or  prepare  an  address  on  "What  the  high  school  docs  for 
my  community."    Or,  "My  reasons  for  going  (or  not  going)  to  high  school." 

What  is  the  cost  per  pupil  in  the  high  school  in  your  community  as  com- 
pared with  that  in  the  elementary  school? 

Education  must  not  only  be  within  the  reach  of  every  citizen 
of  a  democracy,  but  it  must  be  of  a  kind  that  will  fit  him  to  play 
well  his  part  as  a  member  of  the  community. 


"^'^1    sssms  liilii 


■■■■■■    annanu 


Jordan  High  School,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

The  pubhc  schools  now  give  more  attention  than  formerly 
to  the  physical  education  and  welfare  of  the  pupils.   The  wide 
prevalence    of   physical    defects   disclosed   in   the   Education 
effort  to  raise  an  army  during  the  recent  war  has   for  physical 
emphasized  the  importance  of  this  aspect  of  edu- 
cation.   Physical  fitness  is  the  foundation  of  good  citizenship. 
Our  nation  can  be  neither  efficient  nor  fully  democratic  until 
the  physical  well-being  of  all  its  citizens  is  provided  for,  and  the 
responsibility  rests  largely  with  the  public  school. 

Investigations  have  shown  an  alarming  number  of  physical 
defects  among  school  children.  Of  330,179  school  children 
examined   at   one   time   in   New  York  City,  for  example,  70 


138 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


per  cent  were  found  to  have  such  defects.  New  York  City  is 
by  no  means  exceptional  in  this  respect.  In  fact,  figures  seem 
Physical  de-  to  show  that  such  defects  are  even  more  numer- 
schoof^^"^  ous  in  small  places  and  rural  communities  than  in 
children  large  cities.     This,  however,  is  doubtless  because 

large  cities  have  been  more  progressive  in  correcting  and  pre- 
venting them;  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  defects  may  be 


A  Modern  High  School  Gymnasium 


corrected,  and  even  prevented,  if  taken  in  time.  They  interfere 
with  educational  progress,  reduce  efficiency  in  later  life,  and 
cause  loss  both  to  the  individual  and  to  the  community. 

And  so  we  find  in  progressive  schools  many  provisions  for  the 
physical  well-being  and  the  physical  education  of  the  pupils  that 
Correction  their  parents  did  not  have  in  their  schools.  More 
and  preven-  attention  is  given  to  the  ventilation,  heating, 
lighting,  and  sanitary  arrangements  of  the  build- 
ings, and  to  the  kinds  of  seats  and  desks  furnished.  Medical 
inspection  of  school  children  is  now  provided  in  most  cities,  and 
in  some  cases  school  nurses  also.  Pupils  are  fitted  with  glasses 
when   needed,   and   teeth  defects   remedied   in   dental  clinics. 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


139 


Open-air  schools  are  conducted  for  children  who  are  not  phys- 
ically robust,  and  suitable  lunches  provided  for  the  poorly 
nourished.  No  school  is  considered  really  good,  now,  that 
does  not  afford  ample  play  facilities.  Instruction  is  given  in 
matters  pertaining  to  health  and  hygiene,  and  activities  arranged 
for  to  help  pupils  in  the  formation  of  correct  health  habits. 


Free  Medical  Inspection 


Observe  the  kinds  of  defects  shown  in  the  chart  of  "Health  Defects"  on 
page  140. 

If  you  have  medical  inspection  in  your  school,  what  defects  are  most 
commonly  found?  Compare  with  those  shown  in  the  chart.  What  percent- 
age of  pupils  in  your  school  have  such  defects?  How  many  of  these  defects 
are  preventable?    By  what  means? 

How  is  medical  inspection  conducted  in  your  city  schools?  Who  sends  the 
inspectors?  Who  pays  for  them?  To  what  extent  do  the  homes  of  the 
community  cooperate  with  the  schools  and  the  health  inspectors  in  getting 
results  from  the  inspection?    What  kind  of  cooperation  is  given? 

What  other  provisions  are  made  in  your  school  for  the  physical  well-being 
of  the  pupils?  What  can  you  say  about  the  ventilation,  heating,  lighting, 
seating,  of  your  school  in  their  relation  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  pupils? 

If  the  law  requires  school  attendance,  why  should  it  also  require  good 
health  conditions  in  the  school? 


140 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


per  Pent    5 


Health  Defects 

City  children  and  country  children  compared,  percentage  average  of  all 
available  statistics.  Note  that  the  better  showing  of  city  children  is  not  due, 
necessarily,  to  their  superiority  over  country  children,  but  to  the  better  care  taken 
of  them  by  the  community. 

To  what  extent  is  irregular  attendance  in  your  school  due  to  illness?  To 
what  extent  is  this  illness  unnecessary? 

Who  is  responsible  for  the  health  conditions  in  your  school?  What  can 
you  do  about  correcting  improper  provision  for  health  in  the  school? 

What  health  habits  is  your  school  helping  you  to  form?  How  does  it  help 
you  to  form  them?    How  do  you  cooperate  in  the  matter? 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


141 


What  volunteer  agencies  in  your  community  cooperate  with  your  school 
for  the  promotion  of  health  education?  Do  you  belong  to  any  such  organiza- 
tion?   If  so,  describe  its  work. 


The  Lunch  of  Milk  in  a  School 

FOR  Tubercular  Children 

Good  air,  sunlight,  warm  clothing,  frequent  nourishment 


It  is  a  part  of  the  business  of  education  to  fit  every  citizen 
to  earn  a  living,  for  every  ef&cient  citizen  must  be  self-supporting 
and  able  to  contribute  effectively  to  the  productive  Education  for 
work  of  the  community.  The  interdependence  of  vocational 
all  occupations  in  modern  industry  and  the  neces- 
sity for  every  worker  to  be  a  specialist  make  training  essential 
for  every  worker  who  is  to  attain  success  for  himself  and  con- 
tribute his  full  share  to  the  community's  work  (see  Chapter 
XVI). 

The  recent  war  emphasized  strongly  the  nation's  dependence 
upon  trained  workers  in  every  field  of  industry.    One  of  the  direct 


142  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

results  was  the  passage  by  Congress,  in  191 7,  of  the  Smith- 
Hughes  Act,  providing  for  national  aid  for  vocational  instruc- 
National  aid  ^^^^  ^^^  persons  over  14  years  of  age  who  have 
for  vocational  already  entered  upon,  or  are  preparing  to  enter, 
some  trade.  Every  state  in  the  Union  has  met 
the  conditions  imposed  by  this  law. 

The  Smith-Hughes  Act  created  a  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education 
to  consist  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Departments  of  Agriculture,  Commerce, 
and  Labor,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  three  citizens 
appointed  by  the  President,  one  to  represent  labor  interests,  one  commercial 
and  manufacturing  interests,  and  the  third  agricultural  interests.  The  law 
appropriates  national  funds  to  be  given  to  the  state  for  the  establishment 
of  vocational  schools  and  for  the  training  of  teachers  for  these  schools; 
but  each  state  must  appropriate  an  amount  equal  to  that  received  from  the 
national  government.  Each  state  must  also  have  a  board  for  vocational 
education,  through  which  the  national  board  has  its  dealings  with  the  state. 

It  is  not  the  duty  of  the  regular  elementary  and  high  schools, 
however,  to  cultivate  special  vocational  skills;  not  to  turn  out 
Breadth  of  trained  farmers,  or  mechanics,  and  so  on.  But 
for  vocational  ^^^^  work  of  these  schools  should  be  such  that 
life  their  graduates  will  be  better  farmers,  or  mechanics, 

or  lawyers,  or  doctors,  or  engineers,  or  teachers,  than  they  would 
be  without  it.  First  of  all,  these  schools  should  produce  workers 
who  are  physically  fit  for  the  work  they  enter.  They  should 
educate  the  hand  and  the  eye  along  with  the  brain.  They 
should  cultivate  habits  of  working  together,  give  instruction 
regarding  the  significance  of  all  work  in  community  and  national 
life,  and  by  every  means  possible  prepare  the  pupil  to  make  a. 
wise  choice  of  vocation.  Moreover,  the  schools  should  provide 
a  breadth  of  education  that  will  help  to  "transmute  days  of 
dreary  work  into  happier  lives." 

The  life  we  live,  whether  on  the  farm  or  in  the  city,  is  full  of 
Making  life  science  and  history,  civics  and  economics,  arith- 
educationai  nietic  and  geography,  poetry  and  art.  The  modern 
school  helps  the  pupil  to  find  these  things  in  his  daily  life 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  143 

and,  having  found  them,  to  apply  them  to  living  for  his  profit 
and  enjoyment.  A  recent  writer  has  said, 

What  is  the  true  end  of  American  education?  Is  it  life  or  a  living?  .  .  . 
Education  finds  itself  face  to  face  with  a  bigger  thing  than  life  or  the  getting 
of  a  living.  It  is  face  to  face  with  a  big  enough  thing  to  die  for  in  France, 
a  big  enough  thing  to  go  to  school  for  in  America.  .  .  .  Neither  life  nor 
the  getting  of  a  living,  but  living  together,  this  must  be  the  single  public  end 
of  a  common  public  education  hereafter.^ 


Domestic  Science  in  a  High  School 

The  more  nearly  the  conditions  of  living  in  the  school  com- 
munity correspond  to  the  conditions  of  living  in  the  community 
outside  of  school,  the  better  the  training  afforded    Education 
for  living  together.    In  many  schools  the  spirit  and    for  living 
methods  of  community  life  prevail,  even  to  the     °^^    ^^ 
extent  of  school  government  in  which  the  pupils  participate. 

Of  this  community  pupils  and  teachers  are  members  with  certain  common 
interests.  Cooperation  is  the  keynote  of  the  community  life.  The  reahza- 
tion  of  this  cooperation  is  seen  in  the  classrooms,  in  study  halls,  in  the  assem- 
bly room,  in  the  corridors,  on  the  playground.  It  manifests  itself  in  the 
method  of  preparing  and  conducting  recitations;    in  the  care  of  school 

1  D.  R.  Sharp,  "Patrons  of  Democracy,"  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  November,  igig, 
p.  650. 


144 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


propert}';  in  protecting  the  rights  of  younger  children;  in  maintaining  the 
sanitary  conditions  of  the  building  and  grounds;  in  the  elimination  of 
cases  of  "discipline"  and  of  irregularity  of  attendance;   in  the  preparation 


A  City  School  Used  as  a  Community  Center 

A  community  assembly  at  the  Park  View  School,  Washington,  D.C.  An  election 
of  community  officers  is  being  held.  Note  the  boy  scouts  and  the  baseball  team,  both 
identified  with  this  center,  on  the  stage. 

and  conduct  of  opening  exercises,  school  entertainments,  and  graduating 
exercises;  in  beautifying  the  school  grounds;  in  the  making  of  repairs  and 
equipment  for  "our  school";  in  fact,  in  every  aspect  of  the  school  life.i 
What  schools  in  your  city,  if  any,  come  under  the  operation  of  the  Smith- 
Hughes  Act?  How  much  money  do  they  receive  yearly  from  the  national 
government?  For  what  vocations  do  they  prepare?  Describe  the  work  of 
these  schools  and  show  how  it  differs  from  the  work  of  other  schools. 


'"Civic  Education  in  Elementary  Schools,"  p.  31, 
Education  Bulletin,  1915,  No,  j;. 


United  States  Bureau  of 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  145 

Find  out  what  you  can  about  your  state  board  for  vocational  education. 
How  much  money  does  it  receive  from  the  national  government?  Are  the 
vocational  schools  operated  under  this  law  popular?  Why  does  the  national 
government  require  the  state  to  contribute  at  least  an  equal  amount  to 
that  given  by  it?    Do  you  think  this  is  a  good  arrangement?    Why? 

What  does  your  school  do  (if  not  a  Smith-Hughes  Act  school)  to  fit  you 
for  vocational  life? 

Discuss  the  meaning  of  the  statement  that  "it  is  not  the  duty  of  the 
regular  elementary  and  high  schools  to  cultivate  special  vocational  skills." 

To  what  extent  does  your  school  "make  life  educational"? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  statement  that  the  true  end  of  education  is 
"neither  life  nor  the  getting  of  a  Uving,  but  living  together"? 

In  what  respects  does  "community  life"  within  your  school  differ  from 
that  outside  of  school?  What  differences  and  similarities  exist  between  the 
government  of  your  school  and  that  of  the  community  outside  of  school? 
In  what  respects  do  you  think  they  should  be  more  alike? 

Look  up  different  plans  of  pupil  participation  in  school  government  (see 
Readings).    Are  you  in  favor  of  any  of  these  plans?    Why? 

Are  schoolhouses  in  your  city  used  as  "community  centers"?  If  so, 
what  is  done  in  these  centers?    If  not,  do  you  think  they  should  be?    Why? 

Report  on  the  organization  and  value  of  the  community  center  (see 
Readings). 

What  is  done  in  your  community  for  the  education  of  adults? 

Are  there  any  "part-time  schools"  in  your  city?    What  does  this  mean? 

Report  on  the  public  library  as  an  educational  institution. 

What  other  educational  institutions  are  there  in  your  city? 

What  are  some  of  the  greatest  needs  of  your  city  schools  at  the  present 
time?    Why  have  they  not  been  promptly  provided  for? 

The  pioneer  family  was  dependent  at  first  upon  its  own  efiforts 
for  the  education  of  its  children.  When  other  families  came, 
a  schoolhouse  was  built,  a  teacher  employed,  and  The  district 
the  work  of  teaching  the  elements  of  knowledge  school 
was  handed  over  to  the  school.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
"district  school,"  which  is  characteristic  of  pioneer  conditions. 
As  the  population  grew  and  local  government  was  organized, 
the  unit  of  local  government  tended  to  become  the  unit  for 
school  administration.  In  New  England  this  was  the  "town" 
or  township;    in  the  South  it  was  the  county;    in  the  West  it 


146  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

was  sometimes  the  township  and  sometimes  the  county,  or 
else  a  combination  of  the  two.  In  a  large  number  of  the  western 
states,  however,  and  in  a  few  of  the  eastern  states,  the  district 
school  persists  in  many  rural  communities,  a  relic  of  pioneer 
conditions.  It  is  often  felt  that  it  is  more  democratic  for  each 
district  to  administer  its  own  school,  subject  only  to  the  laws 
of  the  state. 

The  chief  advantages  of  the  township  organization  over  the 
district  system  are  that  all  the  schools  of  the  township  are 
Township  administered  by  a  single  plan,  the  taxes  are  appor- 
organization  tioned  to  the  schools  according  to  needs,  and  pupils 
may  be  transferred  from  one  school  to  another  at  convenience. 
In  New  England  two  or  three  townships  are  sometimes  united 
into  a  "union  district"  supervised  by  a  single  superintendent. 

Under  the  county  organization  all  the  schools  of  the  county  are 
under  the  management  of  a  county  board  and,  usually,  a  county 
County  superintendent,  who  is  elected  by  the  people,  or 

organization  appointed  by  the  county  board,  the  governor,  or 
the  state  commissioner  of  education.  Election  of  the  county 
superintendent  by  the  people  is  losing  favor  on  the  ground  that 
there  is  less  assurance  of  securing  a  highly  trained  leader. 

Among  the  advantages  of  the  county  system  are  greater 
economy,  more  nearly  equal  educational  opportunity  for  all 
Advantages  children  of  the  county,  and  better  supervision 
of  school  because  of  the  larger  funds  available  for  this  pur- 

pose. It  is  under  the  county  system  of  organiza- 
tion that  the  movement  for  school  consolidation  is  progressing 
most  rapidly.  By  this  is  meant  the  union  of  a  number  of  small, 
poorly  equipped  schools  into  a  larger,  well-graded,  and  well- 
equipped  school.  Its  advantages  may  best  be  suggested  by  an 
example. 

In  Randolph  County,  Indiana,  there  were,  in  1908,  128  one-room  schools 
in  the  open  country,  with  an  attendance  of  from  12  to  60  pupils  doing 
grade  work  only;   6  two-room  schools  in  hamlets,  with  grade  work  only;    2 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  "  147 

three-room  schools  in  villages,  with  grade  work  and  two  years  of  high  school 
work  with  a  six  months'  term;  3  four-room  village  schools,  with  grade 
work  and  three  years  of  high  school  work  with  a  six  months'  term;  i  six- 
room  school  in  a  town,  with  grade  work  and  four  years  of  high  school  work 
with  an  eight  months'  term. 

By  consolidation,  113  one-room  schools  and  4  two-room  schools  were 
supplanted  by  20  consolidated  schools  with  two  grade  teachers;  6  with  four 
grade  teachers;  6  with  five  grade  teachers;  2  with  six  grade  teachers;  and 
I  with  eight  grade  teachers  —  a  total  of  86  grade  teachers  doing  the  work 
formerly  done  by  148  teachers,  and  doing  it  better.  Fifteen  of  the  schools 
have  a  four-year  high  school  course  with  an  eight  months'  term.  For  the 
five-year  period  preceding  consolidation  not  more  than  half  of  the  eighth- 
grade  pupils  attended  high  school;  after  consolidation  an  average  of  96 
per  cent  of  the  eighth-grade  pupils  went  to  high  school. 

The  pupils  are  transported  to  and  from  school  in  hacks  or  motor-busses 
heated  in  winter.  The  school  buildings  are  equipped  with  running  water, 
modern  heating  and  sanitation,  telephone,  rest  rooms  for  pupils  and  teachers, 
gymnasiums  and  outdoor  physical  apparatus,  physical  training  and  athletic 
competition  being  carried  on  under  supervision.  The  courses  of  study  have 
been  enriched,  increased  attention  is  given  to  vocational  work,  and  music 
and  art  receive  attention  impossible  in  the  district  schools.  Eleven  of  the 
schools  have  orchestras,  and  concerts  are  held  which  the  community  as 
well  as  the  schools  attend.  There  are  auditoriums  used  for  community 
lectures  and  concerts,  Sunday-school  conventions,  community  sings,  parent- 
teachers'  meetings,  and  exhibits  of  various  kinds. 

Report  on  school  life  in  colonial  New  England;  in  colonial  Virginia. 

What  were  the  methods  of  education  in  pioneer  days  in  your  own  state 
and  locality  —  kinds  of  buildings,  length  of  school  term,  whether  public  or 
private,  methods  of  teaching,  etc.? 

What  does  the  family  do  for  the  education  of  children  that  the  school 
can  not  do?    What  does  the  school  do  that  the  family  can  not? 

Outside  of  the  cities,  do  you  have  the  "district  school,"  the  township 
organization,  or  the  county  organization  of  schools  in  your  state? 

What  are  the  advantages  of  graded  over  ungraded  schools? 

Debate  the  question,  "Resolved,  that  the  independent  district  school  is 
more  democratic  than  the  organization  of  schools  on  a  county- wide  plan." 

To  what  extent  is  school  consolidation  taking  place  in  your  state?  in 
your  county?    What  results  has  it  achieved? 

What  is  the  method  of  selecting  the  county  superintendent  in  your  state? 
Do  you  think  it  is  a  good  method?  Why?  What  is  his  term  of  office? 
Does  he  have  anything  to  do  with  your  city  schools? 


148  *  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Do  you  think  there  should  be  closer  cooperation  between  the  schools  of 
your  city  and  those  of  the  county  outside  of  the  city?    Why? 

Because  conditions  in  the  city  are  so  different  from  those  in 
rural  communities,  city  school  systems  are  usually  entirely 
City  school  independent  of  the  school  system  of  the  county  in 
systems  which  they  are  located.    Cities  acquire  this  power 

to  manage  their  own  schools  from  the  state,  either  through  the 
city  charter  or  special  school  laws. 

Every  city  has  its  hoard  of  education,  usually  elected  by  the 
people,  sometimes  appointed  by  the  mayor  or  council  (in  Wash- 
The  board  of  ington  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of 
education  Columbia).  Boards  of  education  vary  greatly  in 
size,  but  there  is  a  tendency  toward  the  small  board  of  about 
seven  members.  In  most  cities  the  boards  serve  without  pay. 
In  most  cities,  also,  they  are  quite  independent  of  the  regular 
financial  authorities  of  the  city  government,  having  power  given 
to  them  by  the  state  to  levy  taxes  and  make  appropriations  for 
school  purposes.  This,  however,  is  not  true  in  all  cities;  in 
New  York  City,  for  example,  the  board  of  education  merely 
submits  its  needs  to  the  board  of  estimate  of  the  city,  which  levies 
the  taxes  and  makes  appropriations  for  all  city  purposes,  includ- 
ing education.  In  practically  every  city  the  board  of  education 
appoints  the  superintendent  of  schools,  who  is  the  trained  director 
of  the  work  of  the  schools,  which  is  carried  on  under  him  by 
assistant  superintendents,  supervisors  of  special  subjects  and 
activities,  principals,  and  teachers. 

Where  the  management  of  a  school  system  fails  to  work 
smoothly,  it  is  often  because  of  failure  to  distinguish  clearly 
Relation  be-  between  the  proper  duties  of  a  board  of  education 
tween  board     ^^^^  ^-j^Qge  q{  ^-^g  superintendent.     The  board  of 

of  education  .  ,  1       ,  1      r    i-  r 

and  superin-  education  corresponds  to  the  board  of  directors  01 
tendent  a  business  corporation  (see  page  287).    Ifrepresents 

the  citizens,  who  correspond  to  the  stockholders  of  the  business 
corporation.    It  is  the  business  of  the  board  of  education,  acting 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  149 

as  the  representatives  of  the  citizens,  to  determine  the  general 
policies  to  be  followed  by  the  school  system,  just  as  the  board 
of  directors,  acting  as  the  representatives  of  the  stockholders, 
determine  the  policies  of  the  business  corporation.  For  the 
execution  of  these  policies  the  board  of  directors  depends  upon  a 
trained  manager  whom  they  employ  for  that  purpose.  In  the 
same  way  the  board  of  education  employs  a  superintendent  who 
is,  or  should  be,  an  expert  in  educational  matters,  and  upon  whom 
the  board  should  depend  for  the  actual  management  of  the 
schools. 

The  representatives  of  the  people  cannot  perform  directly  the  large 
duties  of  carrying  on  the  school  system.  They  must  employ  technically 
trained  officers  to  conduct  the  schools.  To  these  technically  trained  officers 
they  must  look  for  proper  information  on  which  to  base  their  decisions,  and 
they  must  be  prepared  to  intrust  to  those  ofhcers  the  powers  and  responsi- 
bilities which  attach  to  the  daily  conduct  of  school  work.   .  .  . 

No  board  member  should  teach  classes.  No  board  member  should  act  as 
principal  of  a  school.  No  board  member  should  negotiate  with  a  publisher 
of  textbooks,  nor  should  he  pass  on  the  availability  of  a  given  book  for  use  in 
a  school.  No  board  member  should  examine  teachers  with  a  view  to  deter- 
mining their  qualifications  for  appointment.  No  board  member  should  plan 
a  school  building.  No  board  member  should  w^ite  the  course  of  study.  .  .  . 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the  board  to  see  that  technical  officers  do 
the  work  of  the  system,  but  the  board  should  not  do  this  work  itself.  It  is 
a  public  board,  created  to  see  that  a  certain  piece  of  pubhc  work  is  done, 
not  a  group  of  technical  officers  created  to  do  the  work.^ 

There  are  many  cities,  however,  where  boards  of  education 
attempt  to  do  just  such  things  as  these,  and  make  of  their  super- 
intendents little  more  than  clerks.    This  illustrates    importance 
one  of  the  present  weaknesses  in  our  democratic    of  trained 
government.    In  our  zeal  to  govern  ourselves,  either 
directly  or  through  our  representatives,  we  often  overlook  the 
necessity  for  trained  leadership  and  direction.    We  want  democ- 
racy, but  we  want  efficient  democracy;  and  this  can  be  obtained 

»  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Relation  between  Boards  of  Education  and 
Superintendents,  Department  of  Superintendence,  National  Education  Association. 


150  COMMUNITY  CI\1CS 

only  by  placing  confidence  in  trained  leaders  to  do  our  technical 
work  for  us. 

Describe  the  administrative  organization  of  your  own  school.  What  does 
this  mean? 

Give  illustrations  to  show  how  the  principal  of  your  school  secures 
cooperation  among  the  various  rooms  of  the  school.  How  the  superin- 
tendent secures  cooperation  among  the  several  schools  of  the  city. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  a  parent-teacher  association?  If  there  are  such 
associations  in  your  city,  what  do  they  do? 

To  whom  is  the  janitor  of  your  school  responsible?  Is  this  as  it  should 
be?   Why? 

In  the  quotation  given  above,  it  is  stated  that  "no  board  member  should 
plan  a  school  building."    What  reason  could  be  given  for  this? 

How  are  teachers  appointed  in  your  city?  What  qualifications  are 
required  for  appointment? 

How  are  textbooks  selected  in  your  school?  Give  arguments  for  and 
against  state  adoption  of  textbooks. 

Is  there  a  clear  distinction  between  the  duties  of  the  superintendent  and 
those  of  the  board  of  education  in  your  city?  Give  illustrations  to  prove 
your  answer. 

What  are  the  duties  of  the  board  of  education  in  your  city?  Of  the 
superintendent  of  schools?    Of  the  principal  of  your  school? 

Howisyourcity  board  of  education  chosen?  Who  are  its  members?  Their 
term  of  office?    Are  they  paid  or  unpaid?    If  paid,  how  much? 

Give  arguments  for  election  of  the  board  by  the  people;  for  appointment 
by  the  head  of  the  city  government  or  by  a  court;  for  and  against  a  large 
board;  for  a  paid  board;  for  an  unpaid  board. 

What  is  the  rate  of  school  tax  in  your  city?  Who  fixes  this  rate?  Is  there 
a  limit  to  the  tax  that  may  be  levied  for  school  purposes?  What  is  the 
limit,  if  any?    Who  fixes  the  limit?    Why  is  such  a  limit  desirable? 

How  is  money  raised  for  school  buildings?  Why  is  this  method  used  for 
this  purpose,  and  not  for  paying  teachers? 

The  schools  of  the  local  community  are  a  part  of  the  state 
school  system.  Education  is  considered  a  duty  of  the  state, 
State  organ-  though  it  is  administered  largely  by  local  officers, 
ization  for  The  constitutions  of  all  states  make  provision  for  it. 
education  State  control  and  support  of  education  are  necessary 
if  there  is  to  be  equality  of  educational  opportunity  for  all  chil- 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


151 


dren  of  the  state.  Every  state  has  a  department  of  education, 
and  in  most  states  each  local  community  receives  a  portion  of  a 
general  state  tax  for  school  purposes.    The  state  departments  of 


State  Education  BtriLDiNG,  Albany,  N.Y. 

Occupied  by  the  officers  of  the  State  Department  of  Education  and 
of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  Yorii. 


education  differ  widely  from  one  another  both  in  organization 
and  in  the  effectiveness  of  their  work.  In  most  cases  there  is  a 
state  board  of  education,  composed  sometimes  of  certain  state 
officials,  including  the  governor  and  the  state  superintendent  of 
education,  sometimes  of  citizens  appointed  for  this  purpose 
alone  by  the  governor  or  (in  four  states)  by  the  legislature.  In 
only  one  state  is  it  elected  by  popular  vote.  In  all  states  there 
is  also  a  chief  educational  officer,  usually  called  state  superin- 
tendent or  commissioner  of  education  or  of  public  instruction. 


152 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


In  several  states  women  hold  this  position.  The  state  super- 
intendent is  sometimes  elected  by  popular  vote,  sometimes 
appointed  by  the  state  board  of  education  or  by  the  governor. 
Under  the  state  superintendent  there  are  deputy  superinten- 
dents, heads  of  departments,  and  supervisors  of  the  various 
branches  of  educational  work. 


^" 

1  ill  Hill  wiwimag 

i^ : ; 

Campus  of  the  State  Agricultural  College,  Madison,  Wisconsin 

While  cky  schools  are  subject  to  state  laws,  these  laws  usually 
permit  a  much  larger  degree  of  self-management  to^city  schools 
Relation  of  than  to  those  of  rural  communities.  While  the 
state  to  local  county  superintendent  is  in  most  cases  directly 
orgamza  ion  j-gsponsible  to  the  state  superintendent,  this  is 
not  true,  as  a  rule,  of  the  superintendents  of  large  cities.  Cities 
are  usually  allowed  greater  discretion  in  determining  the  course 
of  study  and  in  the  choice  of  textbooks. 

"In  extent  of  duties  and  powers"  state  boards  of  education 
"vary  all  the  way  from  near  zero  to  complete  control  of  the  state 
educational  interests.  The  Michigan  state  board,  outside  of 
its  duties  in  control  of  the  state  normal  schools,  has  little  power 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


153 


except  in  granting  teachers'  certificates;  the  New  York  state 
board  has  supervision  of  all  educational  agencies  in  the  state. 
...  It  has  been  urged  that  the  New  York  state  Powers  of  the 
board  is  going  too  far  in  exercising  supervision  ^*^*®  ^^^""^ 
over  private  institutions.  But  it  should  be  definitely  under- 
stood that  in  a  very  important  sense  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 


The  University  of  Virginia 

One  of  the  oldest  universities  in  the  United  States,  having  been  founded  by 
Thomas  Jefferson. 

private  educational  institution;  an  educational  institution  is  by 
the  nature  of  its  function  essentially  public  and  should  be 
responsive  to  the  needs  of  the  public  which  it  serves.  Every 
educational  agency  in  the  state  is  a  part  of  the  state's  educa- 
tional system  and  should  be  under  the  general  administrative 
supervision  of  the  state  board  of  education."  ^ 

In  many  states  there  are  state  courses  of  study  that  are  fol- 
lowed more  or  less  closely  by  all  schools  of  the  state.  In  New 
York  State  the  examination  questions  used  in  all  schools  are 
prepared  by  the  state  educational  authorities.  In  a  number  of 
states  there  is  a  "state  adoption"  of  all  textbooks  used  in  the 

1  A.  C.  Monahan,  "Organization  of  State  Departments  of  Education,"  pp.  10, 
II.    U.S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1915,  No.  5. 


154 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


state.    Some  states  furnish  textbooks  free,  and  in  two  or  three 
cases  even  print  all  textbooks. 

States  have  normal  schools  to  maintain  the  supply  of  trained 
teachers  for  the  elementary  schools.  High  school  teachers  more 
commonly  receive  their  training  in  colleges  and 
universities.  A  number  of  states  have  state  uni- 
versities and  agricultural  colleges  at  which  attend- 
ance is  free  for  citizens  of  the  state.    In  some  cases  these  higher 


Higher  edu 

cational 

institutions 


Studying  Gas  Engines  ant)  Automobiles  in 
THE  Army  School 

The  policy  of  our  government  is  to  train  enlisted  men  not  only  for  effective  military 
service  but  also  for  successful  civil  life  after  their  term  of  military  service  has  expired. 


educational  institutions  are  under  the  control  of  the  state  board 
of  education,  sometimes  under  that  of  separate  boards  of 
trustees.  There  are  also  state  schools  for  defectives  and  delin- 
quents (see  Chapter  XXII). 

The  first  national  support  to  public  education  was  given  by  the 
Ordinance  of  1787  under  which  the  Northwest  Territory  was 
organized.  It  provided  that  "religion,  morality,  and  knowl- 
edge being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


155 


of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  be  forever 
encouraged."    As  new  states  were  organized  from   National  sup- 
this   Territory    and    from   the    public    lands    ac-   port  of 
quired  later,  grants  of  land  were  made  to  them 
by  the  national  government  for  school  purposes.     Grants  of 


In  a  Naval  Machine  Shop 

The  Navy  has  schools  for  its  enlisted  men  both  on  land  and  on  shipboard.  As  in 
the  Army,  the  purpose  is  to  give  not  only  a  technical  training  but  also  a  broad 
education  for  citizenship. 


public  land  were  also  made  to  the  states  for  the  establishment 
of  agricultural  colleges,  and  money  appropriated  by  Congress 
to  assist  the  states  in  promoting  agricultural  education. 

The  Um*-.ed  States  Bureau  of  Education,  in  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  was  created  by  Congress  to  promote  the  interests 
of  education  throughout  the  United  States.     To   u.S.  Bureau 
this  end  its  specialists  gather  information  relating   °^  Education 
to  the  progress  of  education,  study  its  problems,  and  publish 
numerous  reports  and  bulletins  for  the  information  of  the  people 


156 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


and  the  guidance  of  those  engaged  in  educational  work.  This 
national  bureau  has  no  authority  over  the  schools  of  the  country, 
except  those  of  Alaska. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  (page  141)  to  the  work  of  the 
Federal  l^oard  for  Vocational  Education.    The  Federal  govern- 

Federal  ^^^t,     through     its 

educational       Bureau    of    Indian 
activities  ^g^.^g  .^^  ^^^  Depart- 

ment of  the  Interior,  conducts 
schools  for  the  Indians  on  their 
reservations.  It  conducts  a  naval 
academy  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  and 
a  military  academy  at  West  Point, 
N.Y.,  for  the  training  of  officers  in 
army  and  navy.  Under  the  United 
States  Shipping  Board  there  are 
training  schools  for  men  desiring 
to  enter  our  enlarged  merchant 
marine.  Finally,  mention  should 
be  made  of  the  provision  now 
made  for  the  education  of  en- 
listed men  in  the  United  States 
army  and  on  shipboard  in  the  navy.  This  education  is 
partly  technical  in  character,  and  partly  general,  and  is  designed 
not  only  to  make  better  soldiers  and  sailors,  but  also  to  equip 
them  for  vocations  and  for  citizenship  in  the  community  when 
their  terms  of  enlistment  are  over. 

The  creation  of  a  United  States  Department  of  Education  is 
being  seriously  agitated,  bills  having  been  introduced  in  Con- 
Federal  S^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  purpose.  In  such  a  department,  if 
department  of  created,  will  doubtless  be  brought  together  under 
education  ^  single  direction  most  of  the  various  federal 
agencies  that  now  exist  for  the  promotion  of  education,  such  as 
the  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 


Rehabilitation  of*  Injured 
Ex-Service  Man 

This  man  is  learning  acetylene 
welding.  His  artificial  arm  is  so 
constructed  that  he  can  use  it  ef- 
ectively.  He  is  said  to  be  the 
most  skillful  member  of  his  class. 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  1 57 

Education,  and  others,  perhaps  including  the  Children's  Bureau 
in  the  Labor  Department.  As  matters  now  stand  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  duplication  of  effort,  and  even  crossing  of 
purposes,  among  these  agencies.  But  the  service  of  such  depart- 
ment, if  it  is  created,  will  probably  consist  chiefly  in  setting  up 
educational  standards  for  the  guidance  of  the  states,  and  in 
rendering  assistance  to  the  states  when  it  seems  to  be  needed,  as 
in  the  case  of  industrial  and  agricultural  education  already  men- 
tioned. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  quite  firmly  fixed 
in  their  conception  of  education  as  a  duty  and  a  privilege  of  the 
state,  and  object  to  tendencies  on  the  part  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment to  assume  control  over  it.  At  the  same  time,  because 
of  the  interdependence  and  unity  of  our  national  life,  there  is 
great  need  for  more  uniform  standards  of  education  among  the 
states  than  now  exist. 

What  provision  does  your  state  constitution  make  for  education? 

What  is  the  cost  of  the  pubhc  schools  of  your  state?  Of  your  city?  What 
are  the  sources  of  revenue  for  each?  What  part  of  the  cost  of  education  in 
your  city  j^  met  by  your  state? 

Describe  the  organization  of  your  state  department  of  education.  Com- 
pare it  with  that  of  neighboring  states. 

What  are  the  powers  of  your  state  board  of  education?  Compare  with 
the  powers  of  the  boards  of  neighboring  states. 

Who  is  the  chief  educational  officer  of  your  state  (his  name)?  How  is  he 
chosen?   His  term  of  office? 

Why  should  your  city  have  a  greater  degree  of  self-management  in  edu- 
cational matters  than  rural  communities  of  the  state? 

Just  what  is  meant  by  the  quotation  in  the  text  that  "there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  private  educational  institution"  ? 

Are  there  many  private  schools  in  your  city?  Are  they  subject  to  control 
by  city  or  state  government? 

Do  your  city  and  state  find  it  easy  to  obtain  enough  well-trained  teachers? 
If  not,  why? 

What  state  normal  schools  are  there  in  your  state?  Where  are  they? 
What  are  the  requirements  for  admission?    Are  there  any  private  normal 


158  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

schools  in  your  city,  or  any  that  are  under  the  management  of  your  city 
board  of  education? 

What  pubUc  institutions  for  defectives  and  delinquents  are  there  in  your 
state?   Where  are  they? 

What  are  the  requirements  for  admission  to  your  state  university?  To 
your  state  agricultural  college? 

Why  are  you  going  (or  not  going)  to  college? 

Write  a  theme  on  "What  our  state  university  does  for  our  state." 

Send  for  and  examine  a  "List  of  Available  Publications  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education." 

Debate  the  question,  "Resolved,  that  the  public  schools  of  the  United 
States  should  be  under  the  control  of  the  national  government." 

What  arguments  are  given  for  the  creation  of  a  Federal  Department  of 
Education? 

How  does  one  obtain  admission  to  the  United  States  military  and  naval 
academies?  May  one  become  an  officer  in  the  army  or  navy  in  any  other 
way? 

Report  on  the  educational  work  for  enlisted  men  in  the  army  and  navy. 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  11,  Education  as  encouraged  by  industry. 
Series  C :   Lesson  8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose. 

Educated  men  in  politics  (Grover  Cleveland),  pp.  255-257. 
The  educated  man  and  democratic  ideals  (Charley  E.  Hughes),  pp.  286-288. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

The  American  scholar  (R.  W.  Emerson),  pp.  133-1SS- 
Democracy  in  education  (P.  P.  Claxton),  156-157. 
State  constitution  and  state  school  law. 
Reports  of  local  and  state  departments  of  education. 
Publications  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 

Latest  annual  report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education.    These  annual 
reports  contain  excellent  summaries  of  every  phase  of  education  in  the  United 
States  and  in  many  foreign  countries. 
Bulletins.    Send  to  the  Bureau  for  List  of  Available  Publications.    These  bulle- 
tins relate  to  every  important  aspect  of  education,  school  organization  and 
administration,  etc.     Some  numbers  relate  to  vocational  education.     Others 
relate  to  health  and  school  sanitation.    The  "Health  Education  Series"  of 
leaflets  will  be  found  useful  and  include,  among  others: 
"  Diet  for  School  Children." 
"Summer  Health  and  Play  School." 
"Teaching  Health." 


EDUCATION  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  1 59 

"Further  Steps  in  Teaching  Health." 
"The  Lunch  Hour  at  School." 
Teachers  of  civics  will  find  the  following  bulletins  helpful: 

1915,  No.  17,  Civic  education  in  elementary  schools  as  illustrated  in  Indian- 
apolis (Government  Printing  Office,  5c). 

1915,  No.   23,   The  teaching  of  community  civics  (Government  Printing 

Oflice,  loc). 

1916,  No.  28  The  social  studies  in  secondary  education  (Government  Printing 

Office,  loc). 

191 7,  No.  46,  The  public  school  system  of  San  Francisco,  chapter  on  civic 

education. 

1917,  No.  51,  Moral  values  in  secondary  education. 

1918,  No.  IS,  Educational  survey  of  Elyria,  Ohio,  chapter  on  civic  education 

(Government  Printing  Office,  30c). 

1919,  No.  so,  Part  3,  Civic  education  in  the  public  school  system  of  Memphis. 
Send  also  to  the  Bureau  for  list  of  references  on  pupil  self-government.     On  this 

subject  consult  your  public  librarian. 
King,  Irving,  Social  Aspects  of  Education  (1913)-  "A  book  of  sources  and 
original  discussions  with  annotated  bibliographies."  This  book  contains  chapters 
on  various  topics  mentioned  in  the  text,  and  will  be  found  useful  because  of  the 
reproduction  of  discussions  by  authorities  on  the  various  subjects  and  for  the 
bibliographies.    It  contains  chapters  on: 

"The  Social  Relations  of  Home  and  School"  (chap.  iv). 
"The  School  as  a  Center  of  Social  Life  in  the  Community"  (chap.  v). 
"The  Social  Need  for  Continuing  the  Education  of  the  Adult"  (chap.  vi). 
"Industrial  and  Vocational  Education"  (chap.  ix). 
"Pupil  Self-Government "  (chap.  xvi). 
Welling,     Richard,     Some   Facts    about    Pupil    Self-Government.      A     pamphlet 
published  by  the  School  Citizens'  Committee,  2  Wall  Street,  New  York  City. 
A  good  summary  in  favor  of  self-government. 
Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Child  Life  in  Colonial  Days  (Macmillan). 
Dewey,  John.  The  School  and  Society  and  Schools  of  To-morrow. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 

There  is  nothing  else  that  concerns  a  community  so  much  as 
the  health  of  its  citizens.  Of  more  than  three  million  men 
between  the  ages  of  2 1  and  3 1  examined  for  military 
defects  and  service  in  1 91 8  only  about  65  per  cent  were  passed 
the  national  ^g  physically  fit  to  fight  for  their  country.^  The 
remaining  35  per  cent  were  either  totally  unfit  for 
any  kind  of  service,  or  were  capable  only  of  the  less  strenuous 
activities  connected  with  warfare.  Most  of  the  defects  found 
could  have  been  remedied,  or  prevented  altogether,  if  proper  care 
had  been  taken  in  earlier  years. 

The  nation  loses  by  this  physical  unfitness  in  other  ways  than 

in    fighting    power.      Investigations    have    shown    that    wage 

earners  lose  from  their  work  an  average  of  from  six 
Physical  ° 

defects  and      to  nine  days  each  year  on  account  of  sickness.^ 

the  nation's      q-j^g  ^^q^^  ^q  ^]^g  individual  in  loss  of  wages,  doctors' 
industry  ....  . 

bills,  and  otherwise,  is  a  serious  matter,  to  say 

nothing  of  the  absolute  want  to  which  it  reduces  many  families 

and  the  suffering  entailed.    In  addition  to  this,  the  country  loses 

the  wage  earner's  production.     Sometimes  death  brings  to  the 

family  permanent  loss  of  income,  and  to  the  nation  complete  loss 

of  the  product  of  the  wage  earner's  work.    The  nation  spends 

large  sums  of  money  every  year  in  providing  for  dependent  families 

and  individuals.    It  was  estimated  in  1910  that  the  loss  to  the 

nation  from  illness  amounted  to  three  quarters  of  a  billion  dollars. 

1  Public  Health  Reports,  U.S.  Public  Health  Service,  vol.  34,  No.  13,  p.  633 
(March  28,  1919). 

2  Public  Health  Reports,  U.S.  Public  Health  Service,  vol.  34,  No.  16,  pp.  777-7S2 
April  18,  1919). 

160 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


t6t 


The  nation  loses  a  great  deal  (how  much  can  not  be  calculated) 
from  the  physical  unfitness  of  many  who  are  able  to  keep  on 
working,  but  who  are  not  fully  efficient  because  of   Education 
more  or  less  serious  bodily  defects  or  ailments,   and  physical 
Even  in  school,  pupils  who  lag  behind  in  their     ^  ^'^  ^ 
studies  are  often  suffering  from  physical  defects  of  which  their 


"Setting  Up"  Exercises  in  the  Army 


teachers,  and  even  they  themselves,  may  be  unaware.  Perhaps 
they  are  ill-nourished,  or  have  defective  teeth,  or  vision,  or 
hearing,  or  sleep  in  poorly  ventilated  rooms.  The  community 
does  not  get  its  money's  worth  from  its  schools  if  its  children 
are  not  in  physical  condition  to  profit  by  them.  In  a  similar 
manner  the  earning  and  productive  power  of  older  citizens  is 
reduced. 

If  each  of  50  million  wage  earners  in  the  United  States  lost  6  days  from  work 
in  a  year,  how  many  days'  work  would  the  nation  lose?  How  many  years 
of  work  would  this  amount  to? 


l62 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


At  the  average  wage  of  a  laborer  in  your  community  how  much  would  be 
lost  in  wages  in  a  year?  At  the  average  wage  of  a  mechanic  in  your  com- 
munity? 

Get  information  regarding  the  cost  of  a  long  case  of  sickness,  such  as 
typhoid  fever,  in  some  family  of  your  acquaintance  (perhaps  your  own), 
including  doctor's  bills,  medicines,  time  lost  from  work,  etc. 

What  would  such  expense  mean  to  a  family  living  on  as  low  wages  as 
those  mentioned  on  page  214? 

How  many  days  of  school  are  lost  in  your  school  in  a  year  from  sickness? 


How  Hands  and  Feet  are  Lost 


Much  physical  disability  and  loss  of  life  are  due  to  acci- 
dental injury.  In  1917  approximately  22,000  persons  were 
Injury  from  killed  in  industrial  accidents  in  the  United  States, 
accident  ^^^  about  half  a  million  seriously  injured.    Be- 

sides those  killed  and  injured  in  industry,  there  were  in 
the  same  year  approximately  55,000  deaths  and  1,500,000 
injuries  from  accidents  outside  of  industry  —  on  the  street,  in 
the  home,  and  elsewhere.    More  children  from  ten  to  fourteen 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


163 


years  of  age  were  killed  by  accident  than  died  from  all  epidemic 
diseases,  such  as  scarlet  fever,  measles,  diphtheria,  and  the  Hke. 
Twenty  thousand  children  from  one  to  fourteen  years  of  age  are 
killed  by  accident  annually.  The  following  table  shows  the 
percentage  of  deaths  of  young  children  from  accidental  causes 
for  the  year  191 7: 


Cause  of  Accident 


All  causes 
Burns. .  .  . 
Drowning 
Vehicles.  . 

Falls 

Firearms  . 
Poisoning. 
All  others 


Under  s  Years 

100 

per 

cent 

40 

2  per 

cent 

5 

2  per 

cent 

ID 

2  per 

cent 

8 

I  per 

cent 

I 

3  per 

cent 

21 

I  per 

cent 

13 

6  per 

cent 

5  TO  9  Years 


100     per  cent 

21.9  per  cent 

14.5  per  cent 

39     per  cent 

6.7  per  cent 

4.3  per  cent 

3.9  per  cent 

9.7  per  cent 


10  TO  14  Yfars 


100  per  cent 
9.3  per  cent 

22     per  cent 

32.5  per  cent 
6.9  per  cent 

1 1.5  per  cent 
3.6  per  cent 

14.2  per  cent 


Most  of  the  accidents  to  life  and  limb  are  avoidable.  Their 
number  has  been  greatly  reduced  in  the  last  few  years,  and  will 
be  still  further  reduced  when  sufficient  attention  is  Education 
given  to  the  matter.  It  requires  cooperation  on  ^^^  ^""^^  ^^^ 
the  part  of  all  of  us.  In  some  cities,  as  in  St.  Louis,  certain 
kinds  of  accidents  to  children  have  been  reduced  almost  to  the 
vanishing  point  by  persistent  instruction  in  the  schools,  leading 
to  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  children  themselves.  Courses  of 
instruction  in  "first  aid"  have  been  introduced  in  many  schools, 
promoted  largely  by  the  American  Red  Cross.  This  organiza- 
tion claims  in  a  recent  report  that  "first  aid  instructions  given  to 
swimmers  by  American  Red  Cross  instructors  in  all  parts  of  the 
coimtry  has  resulted  in  seven  years  in  the  reduction  of  deaths 
from  drowning  from  10,000  to  5,000  annually,  and  it  is  the  aim  of 
the  organization  to  broaden  the  scope  of  its  work  to  reduce  the 
number  of  deaths  from  other  accidental  causes." 


164 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Street  accidents  have  become  alarmingly  frequent  with  the 
growth  of  cities  and  the  increase  in  the  use  of  automobiles.  Cities 
Street  have  ordinances  to  regulate  traffic  and  to  prevent 

accidents  street  accidents,  and  the  work  of  the  traffic  police 

has  reached  a  high  degree  of  efficiency  in  some  cities.     But 


Learning  to  Swim 

Out  of  every  100  deaths  from  accident  in  one  year  among  children  from  10  to  14 
years  of  age  22  were  from  drowning. 

traffic  accidents  will  continue  to  occur  until  both  pedestrians 
and  drivers  of  vehicles  observe  the  regulations  with  scrupulous 
care. 

Much  has  been  done  to  increase  the  safety  of  industrial 
workers  by  the  installation  of  safety  devices  of  many  kinds,  and 
Industrial  by  legislation  requiring  them,  and  making  the 
accidents  employer  liable  for  damages  in  case  of  accident  to 

his  employees.    Both  the  frequency  and  the  severity  of  industrial 


Street  Accidents  Have  Become  Alarmingly  Frequent  with  the 
Increase  of  Use  of  Automobiles 

Pictures  of  the  same  comer  in  Washington,  D.C.,  a  generation  ago  and  at  present- 

165 


1 66 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


accidents  have  been  greatly  reduced  by  these  means.  The  work 
of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  in  the  United  States  Department  of  the 
Interior  is  directed  largely  to  the  elimination  of  accidents  in 
mines.  A  number  of  voluntary  organizations  exist  for  the  pro- 
motion of  "safety  first,"  among  them  being  the  National  Safety 
Council  which  is  carrying  on  a  widespread  campaign  of  edu- 
cation. 


Women's  Life-Saving  Corps  in  Action 
Red  Cross  Life  Savers  of  the  San  Francisco  Y.W.C.A. 


Study  the  table  showing  percentage  of  deaths  from  accidental  causes 
(p.  163).  In  what  ways  may  children  cooperate  in  preventing  accident 
from  each  of  these  causes?  Which  causes  are  most  prevalent  in  the  period 
under  5  years?  In  the  period  from  5  to  9  years?  From  10  to.  14  years? 
What  possible  reasons  can  you  give  for  the  prevalence  of  these  causes  in 
these  particular  periods? 

Where  would  you  go,  or  look,  to  find  the  record  of  personal  accidents  in 
your  city?    Get  this  record  and  find  from  it: 

The  number  of  accidents  during  the  period  of  the  record. 

The  number  of  injuries;   the  number  of  deaths. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


167 


The  causes  of  accidents.    Arrange  them  in  order  of  their  frequence. 

Classify  these  accidents  as  (1)  industrial,  (2)  street,  and  (3)  home  accidents. 

Number  of  accidents  to  children. 

Causes  of  children's  accidents. 

Kinds  of  accidents  that  are  increasing  in  frequency;    kinds  that  are 

decreasing. 
Calculate  the  percentage  of  accidents  according  to  causes,  and  compare 

with  table  on  page  163. 
What  measures  are  being  taken  in  your  city  to  reduce  the  number  of 
accidents? 


The  Safety  Committee  at  Work 

Street  accidents  to  children  have  been  greatly  reduced  in  some  cities  by  organized 
cooperation  by  school  boys  and  girls. 


What  part  are  you  taking  in  accident  prevention?  What  part  is  your 
school  taking? 

Do  you  have  first  aid  instruction?  If  not,  ascertain  from  your  local 
Red  Cross  chapter  how  it  might  be  obtained 

Make  a  statement  of  the  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  automobiles  and 
other  vehicles,  and  of  pedestrians,  in  your  city.  Illustrate  by  means  of  a 
diagram  on  the  blackboard. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  National  Safety  Council. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines. 


1 68  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  is  meant  by  an  "employers'  liability  act?"    Is  there  such  a  law 

in  your  state?    Have  employers  always  been  favorable  to  such  laws?    Why? 

Make  a  study  of  safety  devices  used  in  various  industries  in  your  city. 

Disease  also  tends  to  increase  with  the  growth  of  communities. 

XT    ,.,.  While  recent  studies  show  that  certain  physical  de- 

Healtn  •  •        i 

conditions        fects  are  more  prevalent  in  rural  communities  than 

in  cities  .^  cities,  this  is  doubtless  because  cities  have  done 

more  to  combat  them. 

The  city  is  in  contrast  with  the  country  in  its  personal  public  health 
work.  Publicity  of  cases  is  readily  obtained  in  the  city,  and  their  conceal- 
ment is  difficult.  The  concentration  of  population  makes  inspections  and 
visitations  easy.  Climes  and  hospitals  provide  for  their  isolation  and 
care,  and  public  health  nurses  search  out  the  afHicted  persons  and  persuade 
them  to  accept  treatments.  Babies  and  children  in  the  poorer  sections  are 
supervised,  and  facilities  are  provided  for  them  to  obtain  healthful  food.  .  .  . 

The  environmental  conditions  in  a  modern  city  are  often  more  favorable 
than  they  are  in  the  country.  The  tenement  house  laws  require  a  certain 
amount  of  window  space  for  light  and  ventilation.  The  city  government 
prevents  overcrowding,  requires  the  ventilation  of  public  meeting  places, 
removes  the  sewage  and  garbage,  and  provides  a  pure  water  supply.  ^ 

A  study  made  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  in  1 913  of 
the  227  cities  with  a  population  of  25,000* or  more,  showed  that 
the  larger  the  cities,  the  greater  the  effort  to  protect  health. 
And  yet, 

A  fifth  of  the  cities  made  no  inspection  of  school  children;  over  a  third 
did  not  offer  the  ordinary  laboratory  diagnosis  for  the  commoner  com- 
municable diseases;  over  a  fourth  made  no  effort  to  educate  in  health  mat- 
ters; nearly  three-fourths  had  no  housing  law;  nineteen-twentieths  had  no 
concern  with  the  hygiene  of  industry;  over  a  half  had  no  proper  organization 
to  combat  infant  mortality;  and  less  than  a  quarter  had  a  coherent  pro- 
gram against  tuberculosis. 

What  is  meant  by  "vital  statistics"?  What  is  their  importance  to  your 
community?  Who  collects  them?  Where  are  they  recorded?  Are  they 
accurately  collected  and  recorded  in  your  city? 

1  Dr.  Frank  Overton,  in  Public  Health  and  Hygiene,  pp.  555,  556  (Lee  and  Febiger, 
PhUadelphia;  edited  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Park). 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  169 

What  do  the  latest  reported  vital  statistics  of  your  city  show?  What 
vital  statistics  are  reported  in  your  daily  newspaper? 

How  is  the  death  rate  determined?  The  birth  rate?  How  does  the  death 
rate  in  your  city  compare  with  that  in  other  cities  of  about  the  same  size? 
With  that  of  your  state  as  a  whole?  Is  your  city  death  rate  increasing  or 
decreasing?     Your  state  death  rate? 

In  what  sections  of  your  city  is  the  death  rate  highest?  the  lowest?  Give 
reasons.   Show  on  map. 

What  are  the  principal  causes  of  death  in  your  city?  WTiich  of  these  can 
be  classed  as  "preventable"? 

What  was  the  nature  of  the  prevailing  sicknesses  in  your  city  during  the 
last  year?  What  per  cent  of  these  were  contagious?  List  the  contagious 
diseases  reported  in  the  order  of  their  prevalence  in  your  city. 

Does  your  city  fall  in  the  class  of  cities  that  do  or  do  not  provide  for  the 
things  mentioned  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  in  the  paragraph  quoted 
above? 

The  first  essential  to  good  health  is  pure  air.  People  often 
needlessly  deny  themselves  of  it  by  improper  ventilation  of  their 
homes  and  meeting  places.  It  is  often  hard  to  get  Pure  air  and 
where  people  live  in  crowded  districts  and  work  housing 
all  day  indoors.  Frightful  overcrowding  of  sleeping  and  living 
rooms  has  been  common  in  industrial  centers  and  in  sections 
of  cities  occupied  by  newly  arrived  immigrants.  Housing  laws 
now  usually  contain  provisions  designed  to  prevent  this,  such  as 
those  prescribing  the  window  area  and  the  amount  of  air  space 
to  be  allowed  per  person.  Indifference  on  the  part  of  builders 
and  owners  of  tenements,  and  ignorance  on  the  part  of  those  who 
occupy  them,  often  make  such  laws  ineffective. 

A  careful  student  of  housing  conditions  points  out  that  the 

average  health  officer  too  often  learns  of  bad  conditions  only 

when  some  one  makes  complaint,  and  is  too  often  ^^^.j^  ^f  power 

in  ignorance  of  the  places  that  most  need  atten-   of  health 

.  ™,  ,       ^    ,  1    •  ,  •        •     ,  i    officer 

tion.    The  task  of  thorough  mspection  is  too  great 

for  the  small  force  of  inspectors  provided  by  the  city.     The 

health  officer  rarely  has  in  hand  the  health  record  of  a  given 

building  —  the   complaints   that  have   been   made   against   it 


lyo 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


before,  the  amount  and  kinds  of  sickness  that  have  occurred  in 
it,  and  so  on.  He  rarely  has  sufficient  authority  to  act  when  he 
finds  bad  conditions  —  to  stop  construction,  to  hire  workmen 
to  enter  and  remedy  conditions  whether  the  occupants  or  owners 

wish  it  or  not,  or  to  secure 
punishment  of  those  convicted 
of  violating  housing  regulations. 
He  almost  never  has  any  part  in 
the  planning  of  buildings,  or  of 
passing  upon  plans  with  respect 
to  their  sanitary  provisions. 

The  time  to  correct  defects  in  build- 
ings, from  the  sanitary  point  of  view,  is 
when  the  plans  are  made.  ...  It 
should  not  be  possible  in  any  city  to 
erect  a  new  building  until  the  plans  have 
had  careful  examination  by  the  health 
department,  and  had  the  approval  of 
the  health  officer.  The  cities  where  this 
is  the  practice  today  are  the  exception 
rather  than  the  rule,  and  such  an 
important  change  in  procedure  will 
encounter  strenuous  opposition  from  building  interests.   .   .  .  ^ 

It  may  seem  to  be  nobody's  business  but  our  own  how  we 

ventilate  our  homes.    But  bad  air  lessens  vitality  and  nurtures 

■DA-  „A  disease,  causing  loss  to  the  comm.unity.  Colds, 
Bad  air  and  jo  ^  -' 

the  spread  of  influenza,  and  tuberculosis  (of  which  more  than  a 
disease  million  people  are  constantly  sick  in  the  United 

States)  are  nourished  in  bad  air  and  spread  by  contact,  or  by 
food  handled  by  their  victims.  People  who  live  in  foul  air  at 
home  mingle  with  others  at  church,  in  theaters,  at  school,  in  the 
court  room,  and  in  other  public  meeting  places,  which  are  them- 
selves often  poorly  ventilated.  It  is  strange  that  courtrooms, 
where  justice  is  administered,  schools  where  children  are  pre- 


Tenement  Air  Shafi 

The  long  shaft,  28  inches  wide, 
furnishes  all  the  light  and  air  re- 
ceived by  a  dozen  or  more  sleeping 
rooms. 


Lawrence  Veiller,  in  Public  Health  and  Hygiene,  pp.  302,  303. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  171 

pared  for  life,  churches  where  people  worship,  and   theaters 
where  they  seek  recreation,  are  so  often  badly  ventilated. 

One  of  the  principal  purposes  of  city  planning  (see  page  121) 
is  to  make  living  conditions  more  wholesome  by  relieving  con- 
gestion and  letting  in  the  air  and  sunlight.  Parks  planning  for 
and  playgrounds  are  created  to  afford  opportunity  pure  air 
to  old  and  young  to  spend  more  time  out  of  doors.  Adequate 
transportation  facilities  enable  workers  in  office  and  factory  to 
live  in  the  more  open  suburban  portions  of  the  city.  In  old, 
established  cities  city  planning  has  often  meant  tearing  down 
whole  districts,  widening  streets,  and  providing  open  spaces,  at 
great  cost.  In  younger  cities  all  these  things  can  be  provided 
for  in  advance  by  wise  planning. 

Marked  improvement  of  housing  conditions  has  resulted  from 
the  enactment  of  city  ordinances  and  state  laws  for  their  regula- 
tion, from  the  supervision  of  tenements  by  munici-  Housing 
pal  housing  bureaus  and  inspectors  from  the  improvement 
department  of  health,  from  the  activities  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions for  the  promotion  of  better  housing  (see  page  118),  from  the 
awakening  of  employers  to  the  influence  of  living  conditions 
upon  the  efficiency  of  their  employees,  and  from  the  education 
of  the  people  generally  to  the  importance  of  pure  air  and  plenty 
of  it. 

It  is  desirable  to  keep  the  air  as  free  from  dust  as  possible, 
whether  in  the  home,  the  school,  the  shop,  or  the  street.  The 
dust  not  only  irritates  the  eyes,  nose,  and  throat, 
but  carries  germs  of  colds,  tuberculosis,  and  other 
diseases.  Well-kept  cities  are  scrupulously  careful  about  keep- 
ing their  streets  well-paved  and  thoroughly  cleaned.  Depart- 
ments of  city  government  exist  for  these  purposes. 

In  early  times  this  responsibility  was  left  with  the  individual  householder 
or  shopkeeper  (see  the  anecdote  about  Benjamin  Franklin  on  page  42)- 
In  some  communities  even  now  the  streets  are  sometimes  sprinkled  by 
private  contractors  who  receive  fees  from  householders.    In  such  cases  it  is 


172 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


not  uncommon  to  see  the  driver  of  the  sprinkling  cart  shut  off  the  water 
when  passing  the  property  of  citizens  who  have  not  paid  their  fees. 

Smoke  and  the  fumes  from  chimneys  are  another  cause  of  air 
pollution,  large  industrial  plants,  hotels,  apartment  houses,  and 

railroads  being  the  chief  offenders.  An  effort  to 
Smoke  ,      ^r  , 

suppress  the  smoke  nuisance  is  made  by  requir- 
ing large  consumers  of  coal  to  install  stoking  devices  which 


Flushing  the  Streets 

Well-kept  cities  are  scrupulously  careful  about  keeping  their  streets  well  paved 
and  well  cleaned. 


secure  more  complete  combustion  of  fuel,  and  therefore  prevent 
its  waste  in  smoke.  Smoke  inspectors  are  employed  to  keep  an 
eye  on  this  matter.  A  smoky  atmosphere,  like  dirty  streets, 
mars  the  beauty  of  a  city  and  probably  endangers  the  health  of 
its  inhabitants. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  173 

Occupational  diseases  are  diseases  to  which  workers  in  certain 
occupations  are  subject  because  of  the  nature  of  their  work. 
Many  of  them  are  due  to  poisoning,  either  from  Occupational 
handhng  poisonous  materials,  or  from  breathing  diseases 
air  laden  with  injurious  dust  or  fumes.  They  are  among  the 
causes  of  the  wreckage  of  human  life  in  industry.  They  are 
largely  preventable  by  improved  methods  of  manufacture  and 
by  proper  ventilation,  and  some  states  have  laws  for  their 
control. 

Is  your  schoolroom  well  ventilated?  How  do  you  know?  What  effect 
does  poor  ventilation  have  upon  your  feelings  and  your  work? 

If  the  ventilation  of  your  school  is  not  good,  what  may  you  do  about  it? 
Who  is  responsible  for  it? 

Observe  and  report  on  the  ventilation  of  moying  picture  theaters,  churches, 
courtrooms,  and  other  meeting  places  in  your  community. 

How  many  pupils  in  your  class  sleep  with  windows  open? 

Get  a  report  from  members  of  your  family  who  work  in  offices,  stores,  or 
factories,  as  to  whether  or  not  their  working  places  are  well  ventilated. 
Tabulate  the  results  for  the  whole  class  on  the  blackboard. 

If  there  are  housing  laws  in  your  city,  find  out  what  provisions  they  make 
for  air  and  light  in  tenements?  Are  these  laws  carefully  observed  in  your 
city? 

How  much  air  space  should  there  be  per  person  in  a  schoolroom?  In  a 
living  room  at  home?  (Consult  a  physician,  the  school  medical  inspector, 
or  an  architect.) 

Do  tenement  house  inspectors  in  your  city  have  ample  powers? 

Why  should  building  interests  (builders,  owners,  real  estate  dealers) 
oppose  approval  of  building  plans  by  the  health  ofl&cer  (see  quotation  on 
page  170)? 

Is  your  city  well  provided  with  parks,  playgrounds,  and  other  open 
spaces?  Are  such  "breathing  spaces"  distributed  where  they  are  most 
needed?    Are  plans  being  laid  for  their  further  development? 

Do  you  know  of  employers  in  your  city  who  have  interested  themselves 
in  better  housing  for  their  employees? 

What  voluntary  associations  or  agencies  exist  in  your  city  for  the  improve- 
ment of  housing?    What  are  they  doing? 

Report  on  the  organization  and  work  of  the  street  cleaning  department 
of  your  city.    Is  it  up  to  date  in  its  methods?    E.xplain. 

Report  on  the  "smoke  nuisance"  in  your  city. 


174 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Make  a  report  on  occupational  diseases.    What  industries  in  your  city, 
if  any,  are  producers  of  Occupational  diseases? 

Next  to  pure  air,  an  abundance  of  pure  water  is  the  chief  con- 
cern of  a  community  seeking  to  safeguard  the  health  of  its  citi- 
zens. Impure  water  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of 
typhoid  fever  and  other  intestinal  diseases.  About 
400,000  people  have  typhoid  every  year  in  the  United  States, 
and  30,000  are  killed  by  it.  This  is  avoidable.  We  have  from 
three  to  five  times  as  much  typhoid  in  the  United  States  as 
many  European  countries  have,  thanks  to  our  negligence. 


Pure  water 


_^  m    n  D  S  [ 


^-'■'^~ 


;>i/o£5''_Hi  -  r-  ■-;  •' 


p^ 


Sketch  Showing  Sources  of  Water 
Pollution  on  a  Farm 


Until  communities  provide  a  public  water  supply,  famihes 
have  to  provide  their  own.  People  often  depend  upon  the 
Private  private  well  long  after  a  public  supply  is  available, 

wells  \Yell  water  is  easily  contaminated.    The  diagram 

above  illustrates  how  this  may  happen.  Impurities  often  seep 
into  wells  from  long  distances.  With  the  growth  of  population 
the  danger  increases,  especially  if  the  sanitation  of  the  city  is 
not  perfectly  provided  for  (see  page  182). 

All  large  cities  and  many  small  towns  and  villages  have  their 
public  water  supply,  often  installed  at  great  cost.  In  some  cases 
Public  water  the  water  works  are  owned  and  operated  by  the 
supply  community    through   its   government;     in   others 

private  corporations  perform  the  service  of  supplying  water 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


175 


Why  Springfield.  III.,  Must  Not  Pump  From  the  River  ^ 

The  heavy  black  line  marks  the  limits  of  the  drainage  area  of  the  Sangamon 
River  above  the  city  water  works.  This  area  was  inhabited  in  1910  by  some  igi,- 
000  persons,  of  whom  1 10,000  resided  in  places  of  over  1,000  population.  The  river  at 
Springfield  is  seriously  polluted  by  the  sewage  of  Decatur  and  parts  of  Springfield's 
own  sewage,  and  water  from  it  should  not  be  used  in  an  unpurified  condition. 


for  which  the  city  pays.  In  either  case  the  private  consumer 
pays  a  rental  or  tax  for  the  service.  Many  communities  depend 
upon  deep  wells  driven  below  possible  sources  of  contamination. 
Others  rely  on  adjacent  streams  and  lakes.  Some  have  found 
it  necessary  to  go  long  distances  for  a  safe  and  abundant 
supply. 

iFrom  the  Springfield  Survey,  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation. 


176 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  Water  Supply  System  of  New  Haven 

A,  Saltonstall;  B,  Whitney;  C,  Wintergreen;  D,  Woodbridge  (Lake  Dawson); 

E,  Ivialtby. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  1 77 

A  city  that  depends  on  adjacent  streams  or  lakes  is  endangered 
by  sewage  and  other  impurities  from  communities  and  farms 
within  the  drainage  area  (see  facing  map).  This  interdeoend- 
illustrates  the  interdependence  of  cities  and  rural  ence  of  city 
communities  (see  page  66),  and  affords  the  reason  "  *^°""  '^^ 
for  state  control  over  streams  and  other  bodies  of  water  to  pre- 
vent their  contamination.  Sometimes  a  city  and  the  surround- 
ing region  upon  which  it  is  especially  dependent  are  organized 
into  a  sanitary  district  under  the  supervision  of  a  special  board  or 
commission. 

Chicago  went  to  great  expense  many  years  ago  to  bring  its 
water  from  far  out  in  Lake  Michigan  through  tunnels  under  the 
lake.  But  meanwhile  it  went  on  pouring  its  sewage  into  the 
Chicago  River  which  flowed  into  the  lake.  This  necessitated 
the  construction  of  the  Chicago  drainage  canal  connecting  the 
Chicago  River  with  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  and 
turning  the  flow  of  water  from  the  lake  instead  of  into  it.  New 
York  spent  many  millions  of  dollars  to  obtain  its  water  supply 
from  the  Catskill  Mountains  a  hundred  miles  away;  and 
Los  Angeles  has  gone  even  farther  to  draw  upon  mountain 
streams.  Cities  will  thus  go  to  almost  any  expense  to  insure  a 
pure  water  supply. 

Even  then  water  must  often  be  purified  after  it  is  brought  from 
its  sources.  One  common  method  is  to  cause  it  to  flow  upon 
large  beds  of  gravel,  sand,  and  other  materials  Purification 
through  which  it  slowly  filters,  removing  sediment  °^  water 
and  harmful  impurities.  Specimens  of  the  water  are  taken 
daily  to  the  laboratories  of  the  city  health  department  for  exam- 
ination, and  reports  made  to  the  people  through  the  daily 
papers  as  to  its  condition. 

Make  a  report  on  any  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  recently  occurring  in 
your  locality  or  state.    What  were  its  causes?    How  was  it  stopped? 

Is  t>'phoid  fever  frequent  in  your  city?  To  what  causes  are  the  cases  of 
which  you  know  attributable?  If  you  don't  know,  how  would  you  proceed 
to  find  out? 


1 78  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Take  a  census  of  your  schoolroom  (or  entire  school)  to  determine  the 
number  of  pupils  whose  families  depend  upon  wells  for  their  drinking  water. 

How  may  a  family  proceed  to  have  its  drinking  water  examined  for 
purity? 

Make  a  study  of  your  city  water  supply:  sources;  method  of  purification; 
cost  to  the  city;  cost  to  individual  users;  how  the  cost  is  met;  public  or 
private  ownership. 

Make  an  excursion  to  the  purification  plant;  to  the  pumping  station; 
to  the  city  laboratory  where  water  is  analyzed. 

What  particular  sources  of  danger  to  your  city  water  supply  exist? 

Is  your  city  included  in  a  sanitary  district?  If  so,  explain  its  organization 
and  management. 

Pure,  clean,  wholesome  food  is  essential  to  good  health.  Much 
illness  is  traceable  to  improper  diet  and  to  poorly  cooked  and 
"  spoiled  "  foods.  Typhoid  fever  may  be  contracted 
from  milk,  green  vegetables,  and  oysters  from  beds 
contaminated  with  sewage.  Tuberculosis  may  be  carried  by 
milk,  either  from  diseased  cattle  or  from  victims  of  the  disease 
who  handle  the  milk  at  some  point  in  its  progress  from  dairy 
farm  to  home.  The  death  rate  among  babies  is  especially 
appalling,  and  is  due  largely  to  the  use  of  infected  milk.  Our 
food  supply  must  be  protected  at  every  point,  a  thing  difficult  of 
accomplishment  in  view  of  the  many  hands  through  which  it 
must  pass  and  the  long  distances  it  must  frequently  travel. 

The  high  death  rate  among  babies,  which  was  long  taken 
almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  proper 
The  milk  control  of  the  milk  supply.    No  small  part  of  the 

supply  iQgg  Qf  child  life  is  due  to  carelessness  and  ignorance 

in  the  home.  But  the  home  is  helpless  if  proper  precautions  are 
not  taken  before  the  milk  reaches  it.  The  health  organization 
of  a  city  includes  inspectors  who  supervise  all  places  where  milk 
is  handled  and  sold  and  take  specimens  of  all  milk  brought  into 
the  city  to  the  laboratory  of  the  health  department  for  examina- 
tion. The  sale  of  milk  that  does  not  come  up  to  certain  stand- 
ards is  prohibited,  thus  forcing  milk  producers  in  distant  places 
to  exercise  care  in  their  methods.    As  cities  grow  in  size,  they 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


179 


are  forced  farther  and  farther  away  for  an  adequate  milk  supply. 
New  York  City,  which  draws  its  milk  supply  from  five  states, 
some  of  it  coming  as  far  as  300  miles,  has  authority  to  send  its 
own  milk  inspectors  into  the  surrounding  region  to  inspect  farms 
and  dairies.  But  for  the  protection  of  all  communities  state 
control  is  necessary. 


Ill  flBiTffilll 


Good  and  Bad  Types  of  Dairy  Stable 


Volunteer  philanthropic  organizations,  acting  independently 
or  in  cooperation  with  health  departments,  have  interested 
themselves  in  a  safe  milk  supply  for  those  who  Voluntary 
might  otherwise  have  difficulty  in  obtaining  it.  cooperation 
One  method  is  to  establish  milk  stations  in  congested  parts  of 
the  city  where  the  poorer  people  may  obtain  milk  with  certainty 
of  its  purity.  Such  organizations  have  done  much  to  educate 
the  people  with  respect  to  the  need  and  the  methods  of  insuring 
a  pure  milk  supply. ' 

City  health  departments  also  provide  for  the  inspection  of 


i8o 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


other  perishable  foods,  especially  in  the  public  markets.  But 
here  again  it  is  necessary  to  control  the  sources  of  supply,  which 
Pure  food  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  city  alone.  States  enact 
laws  laws  to  regulate  the  sale  and  handling  of  perishable 

foods  and  to  prevent  the  adulteration  of  manufactured  food 
products  with  injurious  materials.     The  state  department  of 


A  Public  Market  in  Cleveland,  Ohio 

health  has  its  laboratories  and  its  food  inspectors.  Since  food 
products  are  sent  from  state  to  state  and  are  imported  from  for- 
eign countries.  Congress  has  enacted  pure  food  laws  and  has 
provided  for  national  supervision  over  food  products,  especially 
animal  products.  The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  maintains,  in  cooperation  with  the 
states,  a  system  of  inspection  of  cattle  and  packing-houses, 
establishes  quarantine  against  diseased  animals  and  meats,  and 
regulates  the  interstate  transportation  of  livestock  and  food 
products. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


I«l 


Show  on  a  map  the  area  from  which  your  city  draws  its  milk  supply. 
How  far  distant  does  the  city  go  for  its  milk? 

What  measures  have  been  taken  to  reduce  the  infant  death  rate  in  your 
city?   With  what  success? 

Report  on  the  work  of  a  milk  inspector  in  your  city. 

W' hat  is  "pasteurized "  milk?      "Certified "  milk? 

What  voluntary  associations  in  your  city  interest  themselves  in  a  pure 
milk  supply?     What  are  they  doing  for  it? 


A  Pure  Food  Exhibit 
From  the  budget  exhibit  of  New  York  City 


If  there  are  "milk  stations"  in  your  city,  locate  them  and  tell  how  they 
are  operated. 

What  laws  exist  to  protect  your  milk  supply? 

WTiat  pure  food  laws  exist  in  your  state?   How  are  they  enforced? 

If  there  is  a  public  market  in  your  city,  how  is  it  regulated  for  the  pro- 
tection of  health?  How  may  those  who  buy  at  the  market  cooperate  in 
protecting  the  food  displayed  there? 

Are  private  groceries  inspected  in  your  city? 

The  purity  of  air,  water,  and  food  depends  largely  upon  the 
cleanliness  of  the  community.  First  in  importance  is  the 
disposal  of  sewage.     Every  city  has  its  system  of  sewers  under- 


l82 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


lying  the  streets,  and  its  department  of  government  responsible 
for  their  construction  and  maintenance.  It  frequently  happens, 
Disposal  of  however,  that  the  sewer  system  has  not  been  care- 
sewage  fully  planned  to  meet  the  needs  of  city  growth, 
thus  failing  to  give  adequate  service.  Sometimes  the  sewers  are 
improperly  constructed,  permitting  of  obstruction  by  the  roots 


Disposing  of  Garbage  by  Burial 

of  trees  or  by  caving  earth,  and  preventing  proper  inspection  and 
cleansing.  Sometimes  the  houses  in  sections  of  the  city  are  not 
even  connected  with  the  sewer  system.  All  this  means  imperfect 
cooperation  and  poor  leadership  in  the  important  matter  of 
health  protection.  The  method  of  final  disposal  of  sewage  is  of 
the  greatest  importance.  The  easiest  and  most  usual  method  is 
to  have  the  sewers  empty  into  streams  and  other  bodies  of  water. 
This  is  a  source  of  pollution  of  water  supply,  and  necessitates 
great  care  in  the  purification  of  the  city's  water  (see  page  177). 
In  some  cases  sewage  is  put  through  a  process  of  screening, 
filtering,  and  treatment  with  chemicals  to  reduce  its  quantity 
and  to  purify  it  before  it  is  finally  disposed  of. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH 


183 


Garbage  not  only  represents  an  economic  waste  but  it  is  also 
a  menace  to  health  if  improperly  cared  for.     Uncovered   or 
overflowing  garbage  cans  are  offensive,  and  attract   Disposal  of 
and  breed  flies.    Progressive  cities  require  the  use   s^^^^s^ 
of  tightly  covered  garbage  cans,  and  frequent  collection  in  closed 
wagons.    In  some  places  garbage  is  hauled  to  more  or  less  remote 


The  Removal  of  Ashes 

"dumps,"  where  it  becomes  offensive,  breeds  flies,  attracts  rats, 
and  possibly  pollutes  the  water  supply.  Many  cities  now  use 
much  of  their  garbage  for  fattening  hogs,  and  others  have  in- 
stalled garbage  reduction  plants  where  oils  are  extracted  for  the 
manufacture  of  glycerine,  soap,  and  other  products,  where 
fertihzers  are  produced,  and  where  the  remnant  is  burned.  This 
is  the  economical  and  sanitary  method. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  work  of  the  street 
cleaning  department  (page  171).     Cities  also  provide  for  the 
collection  and  removal  of  ashes  and  "rubbish"    Rubbish 
(paper,  cans,  etc.)  and  require  that  these  shall  be   ^°^  ^^^^^ 
kept  separate  from  garbage,  partly  for  convenience  of  handling, 
partly  for  considerations  of  health. 


1 84 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


We  have  learned  in  recent  years  that  flies,  mosquitoes,  and 

various  kinds  of  vermin,  as  well  as  rats,  and  even  cats,  are 

carriers  of  serious  diseases.     Flies  are  notorious 
Disease- 
bearing  in-      distributors  of  tuberculosis  and  of  typhoid  fever 

sects  and  q^^^     other    intestinal    diseases;     mosquitoes    of 

animals 

malaria  and  yellow  fever;  and  rats  of  dread  diseases 

such  as  bubonic  plague,  occasionally  imported  from  foreign 


Garbage  Reduction  Plant,  Washington,  D.C. 

This  is  located  outside  of  the  city.  The  garbage  is  cooked  with  steam  and  pressed 
to  extract  the  grease  which  is  sold  for  commercial  purposes.  The  remainder  is  sold  to 
fertilizer  manufacturing  plants. 


lands  by  rats  on  shipboard.  The  terrible  hook-worm  disease,  so 
prevalent  in  our  southern  states,  is  caused  by  a  minute  worm 
infesting  soil  that  is  polluted  with  sewage.  It  penetrates  the  soles 
of  the  feet  and  the  palms  of  the  hands  of  those  who  work  in  the 
soil,  finds  its  way  through  the  blood  to  the  intestines,  and  thence 
to  the  soil  again.  War  has  been  declared  against  all  these  danger- 
ous forms  of  animal  life,  a  war  which  Requires  the  cooperation  of 
every  one,  and  success  in  which  depends  chiefly  upon  keeping 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  185 

the  community  ''cleaned  up,"  so  that  the  insects  will  find  no 
breeding  places,  and  the  larger  animals  nothing  to  attract  them. 

Describe  the  method  of  sewage  disposal  in  use  in  your  city.  Is  it  a  good 
system?    Why? 

Are  there  any  portions  of  your  city  where  the  houses  are  not  connected 
with  the  sewers?  What  is  the  reason  for  this?  Can  you  find  out  whether 
any  kinds  of  sickness  are  more  frequent  in  such  sections? 

Do  you  know  of  cases  where  sewers  have  been  blocked  up  and  so  caused 
trouble?  What  was  the  cause  of  the  blocking?  What  should  a  family  do 
to  help  prevent  sewers  from  becoming  blocked? 

Describe  the  method  of  garbage  disposal  in  your  city.  How  is  garbage 
disposal  in  your  home  regulated  by  law? 

Write  a  theme  on  "The  value  of  clean-up  week  to  our  community." 

What  city  ordinances  regulate  the  disposal  of  ashes  and  rubbish  in 
your  home? 

How  would  you  proceed  to  organize  a  fly-extermination  campaign  in 
your  community?  A  mosquito-extermination  campaign?  A  rat-extermina- 
tion campaign?  Are  such  campaigns  in  progress  in  your  community?  What 
part  are  you  taking  in  such  campaigns? 

Report  on  the  campaign  against  hook-worm  in  the  South  (see  Readings) . 

Besides  attempting  to  create  conditions  favorable  to  health  — 
pure  air,  water,  and  food,  and  clean  surroundings  —  communities 
also  provide  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  seek  to  Care  of 
promote  observance  of  the  rules  of  healthy  living.  *^®  ^"^^ 
In  most  cases  the  responsibility  for  the  care  of  the  sick  rests 
with  the  home,  with  the  aid  of  physicians  and  nurses  privately 
employed.  The  patient  may  be  sent  to  a  hospital,  frequently  a 
private  institution.  Communities,  however,  also  maintain 
public  hospitals,  clinics,  and  dispensaries,  and  furnish  medical 
and  nursing  care  for  those  who  are  unable  to  pay  for  competent 
service.  Cities  and  states  maintain  institutions  for  the  care  of 
physical  and  mental  defectives  (see  Chapter  XXII). 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  a  health  department  is  the 
control  of  contagious  diseases.    It  is  partly  for  this  reason  that 
medical   inspection  is  carried  on    in  the  schools.    Contagious 
Acting   under    the    authority   of   local  and   state   diseases 
laws,  the  board  of  health  may  place  a  home  harboring  con- 


l86  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

tagious  disease  under  quarantine.  It  may  close  the  schools 
during  an  epidemic,  and  even  forbid  people  to  assemble  in  large 
numbers,  as  in  the  case  of  recent  epidemics  of  influenza.  Cities 
and  states  may  declare  a  cjuarantine  against  other  cities  and 
states  where  epidemics  prevail.  The  national  government, 
through  its  Immigration  Bureau,  subjects  immigrants  to  a 
strict  inspection  to  determine  their  freedom  from  contagious 
diseases,  and  may  forbid  their  entrance  to  our  country  if  afSicted 
with  such  diseases. 

We  noted  in  Chapter  X  the  service  of  the  schools  in  providing 
for  health  education  and  in  helping  to  form  health  habits.  It  is 
The  public  an  important  part  of  the  work  of  the  health  depart- 
health  nurse  n^^ent,  as  well  as  of  the  department  of  education,  to 
extend  education  in  these  matters  to  the  people  at  large.  This 
is  done  by  various  means.  One  of  the  most  effective  methods 
is  through  the  public  health  nurse. 

"The  public  health  nurse  is  the  field  agent  of  the  public  health  officer. 
She  spends  most  of  her  time  visiting  in  private  homes.  She  recognizes 
defects  and  unhygienic  habits,  brings  children  and  patients  to  physicians 
and  clinics  for  examination,  and  makes  arrangements  for  treatment.  .  .  . 
The  public  health  nurse  may  have  to  spend  an  hour  or  two  persuading  and 
instructing  a  parent  to  submit  her  child  to  an  examination  or  operation  which 
takes  but  a  few  minutes  of  a  doctor's  time.  She  makes  it  possible  for  people 
in  moderate  financial  circumstances  to  receive  the  benefit  of  medical  and 
surgical  advice  which  may  prevent  a  severe  attack  of  sickness  or  may 
enable  a  patient  to  return  to  a  useful  occupation.  She  is  a  teacher  of  the 
newer  phases  of  public  health  work  and  brings  a  knowledge  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  preventive  and  corrective  work  to  those  who  would  otherwise  remain 
ignorant  and  would  become  weaklings  because  the  means  of  help  were  not 
brought  to  their  attention. 

The  greatest  saving  of  life  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  been 
among  children  under  five  years  of  age,  and  has  been  accomplished  largely 
by  means  of  the  public  health  nurse.  The  nurses  visit  and  instruct  mothers 
in  their  homes,  conduct  classes  for  mothers  and  older  sisters,  establish  milk 
stations,  and  promote  a  sanitary  milk  supply.  ^ 

WTiat  is  a  "chnic"?    A  "dispensary"?    A  "sanitarium"? 

1  Dr.  Frank  Overton,  in  Public  Health  and  Hygiene,  pp.  573,  574. 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  187 

What  city,  county,  or  state  hospitals,  sanitariums,  and  chnics  do  you 
have  in  your  city?    Locate  them  on  your  map. 

Get  from  your  city  health  department  (and  your  state  health  department) 
publications  relating  to  the  control  of  contagious  diseases. 

What  is  done  by  your  city  health  department  to  control  an  epidemic  of 
contagious  disease? 

What  is  your  duty  if  there  is  a  contagious  disease  in  your  home?  In  your 
school?  What  happens  in  your  school  if  a  case  of  contagious  disease  occurs 
there? 

Write  a  theme  on  "The  work  of  a  public  health  nurse";  or,  "Why  I 
should  like  to  be  a  public  health  nurse." 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  public  health  nurse  and  a  school  nurse? 

If  you  wanted  a  nurse  to  take  charge  of  a  case  of  sickness,  to  what  dif- 
ferent agencies  in  your  city  might  you  apply? 

What  is  a  "public  health  center"?  (See  Readings.)  Have  you  any  in 
your  city? 

Every  city  government  has  its  health  department.  It  has 
been  the  customary  thing  to  have  at  the  head  of  this  depart- 
ment a  board  of  health  which,  under  the  form  of  The  city  board 
government  that  has  long  prevailed  in  American  °^  health 
cities,  is  usually  appointed  by  the  mayor.  The  board  varies  in 
size,  but  five  members  is  a  usual  number.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
board  of  education  (see  page  148),  it  is  generally  thought  that 
the  best  results  are  obtained  when  the  members  are  unpaid.  As  a 
rule  it  is  required  that  one  or  more  members  of  the  board  shall 
be  physicians,  though  it  is  not  the  business  of  the  board  of  health 
to  render  professional  medical  service,  any  more  than  it  is  the 
business  of  the  board  of  education  to  render  professional  edu- 
cational service  (see  page  149).  The  board  usually  has  certain 
legislative  powers  to  enable  it  to  make  rules  regulating  the 
health  conduct  of  the  people.  Sometimes  this  power  is  very 
limited  and  may  often  be  practically  annulled  by  the  city 
council,  which  frequently  passes  ordinances  in  conflict  with  the 
best  judgment  of  the  board  of  health.  It  is  the  general  belief  of 
students  of  city  government  that  the  board  of  health  should 
have  complete  authority  over  the  health  policy  of  the  city. 


1 88  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  professional  expert  in  charge  of  the  work  of  the  health 
department  is  the  chief  health  officer,  who  corresponds  to  the 
Health  superintendent  of   schools  in   the  department  of 

experts  education  (seepage  148).      He  is  usually  a  physi- 

cian or  a  sanitary  engineer.  Where  there  is  a  board  of  health, 
he  is  usually  appointed  by  it.  Subordinate  to  him  there  are 
inspectors  of  milk  and  other  food,  sanitary  inspectors,  tenement 
house  inspectors,  public  health  nurses,  bacteriologists,  and  a 
more  or  less  numerous  staff  of  clerks.  School  medical  inspectors 
and  school  nurses  are  sometimes  attached  to  the  board  of  health 
and  sometimes  to  the  board  of  education.  Many  believe  that 
this  work  should  be  under  the  control  of  the  school  authorities. 
The  number  and  variety  of  these  health  specialists  vary  in 
different  cities.  Often  they  are  appointed  by  the  board  of 
health,  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  most  students  that  they  should 
be  appointed  by  the  chief  health  officer  and  completely  under 
his  authority,  just  as  school  principals  and  teachers  should  be 
appointed  by  the  superintendent  of  schools  and  not  by  the  board 
of  education  (sec  page  149). 

There  is  a  decided  tendency  to  place  the  department  of  health 
in  charge  of  a  single  health  commissioner  instead  of  under  a 
board.  This  is  especially  likely  to  be  the  case  under  the  newer 
"commission"  and  "city-manager"  forms  of  city  government. 
(See  Chapter  XXVI.) 

The  health  organization  of  a  city  cannot  be  efficient  unless  it 
is  supported  by  the  people.  It  costs  money.  It  is  a  common 
The  cost  of  complaint  that  cities  do  not  give  the  support  that 
health  pro-  the  importance  of  health  protection  and  promotion 
deserves.  Cities,  of  course,  differ  greatly  in  this 
respect;  as  a  rule,  the  larger  the  city,  the  better  the  support 
given.  The  survey  made  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  in 
1913  (see  page  168)  showed  that  this  support  ranged  all  the  way 
from  ninety-eight  cents  per  inhabitant  per  year  in  one  city  to 
only  three  quarters  of  one  cent  per  inhabitant  per  year  in 
another.    The  writer  of  the  report  of  the  survey  says: 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  l8g 

vVaat  can  we  expect  of  a  department  in  a  city  whose  total  appropriation 
iS  but  $200?  And  if  the  New  Yoric  City  department  uses  fifty-eight  cents 
per  inhabitant  per  year  and  has  to  practice  great  care  to  make  it  go  round, 
what  can  our  average  city  do  on  only  twenty-two  cents?  Again,  do  an> 
real  differences  in  local  conditions  require  that  Seattle  spend  ninety-eight 
cents  per  inhabitant  per  year,  while  Woonsocket  may  rest  content  with 
four  cents? 

In  view  of  the  close  interdependence  of  the  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding rural  region  and  neighboring  small  communities,  it  is 
highly  important,  even  from  the  standpoint  of  the   county 
city,  that  there  be  an  efifective  health  organization   health 
in  this  surrounding  region.    Counties  usually  have   ^'^^^'"^ 
their  own  boards  of  health,  or  health  officers,  or  both;    but 
county  health  organization  and  service  have  been  as  a  rule  sadly 
neglected.    At  the  present  time,  however,  improvement  is  being 
made  in  this  respect  in  some  of  the  states. 

Arlington  County,  Virginia,  is  just  across  the  Potomac  River  from  the 
city  of  Washington,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  several  bridges  and 
electric  railway  lines.  Most  of  its  population  lives  in  villages  and  small 
towns,  many  of  whose  inhabitants  have  their  work  in  the  city  across  the 
river.  The  county  supplies  Washington  with  some  of  its  milk,  vegetables, 
and  other  food  materials. 

In  this  county,  prior  to  1919,  "there  was  no  aggressive  health  policy; 
little  money  appropriated;  no  provision  was  made  for  the  removal  of  night 
soil;  no  safeguarding  of  water  supplies;  no  school,  dairy,  or  food  inspection. 
Prevention  of  spread  of  communicable  diseases  consisted  in  the  perfunctory 
duty  of  placarding  houses  and  an  inefhcient  method  of  fumigation.  Tin 
cans,  rubbish,  garbage,  and  even  night  soil  were  deposited  in  vacant  lots,  in 
runs,  along  electric  lines,  in  gullies  and  water  ways.  Hogs  had  grown  up 
with  the  county  and  probably  outnumbered  the  present  school  population."  ^ 

This  was  a  deplorable  condition  for  the  rural  environs  of  our  national 
capital.  In  the  spring  of  1919,  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service 
proposed  to  demonstrate  the  practicabiUty  of  a  thorough-going  plan  of 
health  work  and  sanitation  in  this  county.  The  demonstration  was  begun, 
with  the  cooperation  of  the  state  board  of  health  of  Virginia  and  the  county 
authorities.  The  Rockefeller  Foundation,  a  private  agency,  also  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  enterprise.    The  demonstration  was  a  complete  success, 

''  From  the  first  annual  report  of  the  health  officer  of  Arlington  County. 


IQO  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  county  now  has  an  extremely   effective  health  organization,  and  has 
been  thoroughly  "cleaned  up." 

When  the  demonstration  began  there  was  almost  complete  indifference, 
and  no  little  opposition,  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the  county.  To-day 
they  are  enthusiastic  about  their  health  conditions,  and  cooperate  whole- 
heartedly with  the  health  authorities,  even  to  the  3,000  children  in  the 
schools  of  the  county  (see  page  192). 

To  insure  protection  for  all  communities  within  a  state,  city 
and  rural  alike,  a  state  health  organization  is  necessary.  At  the 
State  health  head  of  this  organization  there  is  a  state  board  of 
organization  health,  or  a  commissioner  of  health,  or  both.  There 
are  state  laboratories,  inspectors,  and  hospitals.  State  health 
departments  differ  greatly  in  their  organization  and  in  the  extent 
and  effectiveness  of  their  work.  Where  they  are  well  organized, 
they  cooperate  with  and  supervise  the  work  of  local  health 
organizations.  The  New  York  state  health  organization  is  one 
of  the  best  in  the  country,  and  may  be  taken  as  an  illustration. 
Among  its  important  features  are  (i)  a  public  health  council 
which  has  power  to  establish  a  state- wide  sanitary  code  (law); 
(2)  the  concentration  of  all  administrative  power  in  the  hands  of 
a  single  state  health  commissioner,  who  has  a  staff  of  experts  to 
direct  special  lines  of  health  work;  and  (3)  a  well-organized 
scheme  of  cooperation  between  the  state  department  and  local 
health  authorities.  Each  local  community  (town,  village,  and 
small  city)  has  its  board  of  health  and  health  officer;  but  these 
communities  are  grouped  into  twenty  health  districts,  each  of 
which  is  in  charge  of  a  district  health  officer  called  a  sanitary 
supervisor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  state  commissioner  of  health. 

While  the  health  protection  of  the  individual  is  considered 
primarily  a  duty  of  the  state  working  through  state  and  local 
Federal  con-  authorities,  many  conditions  endangering  health 
trol  of  health  are  nation-wide,  and  even  world-wide,  in  their 
influence.  Chiefly  under  the  power  given  to  it  by 
the  Constitution  to  regulate  interstate  and  foreign  commerce 
(see  page  492),  Congress  has  passed  many  laws  that  protect 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  191 

health,  placing  their  enforcement  in  the  hands  of  the  several 

departments  of  the  national  government. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  conducts  much  public  health 

work,  through  its  home  demonstration  agents,  its  Office  of  Rural 

Engineering  which  deals  with  problems  of  farm    „    ,  , 

°  "  ...  Health  work 

water    supply    and    rural    sanitation,    its    Bureau   of  the 

of  Entomology  which  wages  war  against  flies  and   Department 

.  .  .  of  Agriculture 

other    disease-carrying    insects,    and    its    Bureau 

of  Animal  Industry  which  inspects  cattle,  meats,  and  dairy 

products.     The    Department  of   Agriculture  also  administers 

the  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  secure  purity 

of  food  products  and  to  require  that  they  and  medicinal  drugs 

shall  be  labeled  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  what  they  contain. 

Fraudulent  and  harmful  ''cures"  and  "patent  medicines"  may 

thus  be  exposed. 

The  War  Department  has  also  waged  a  relentless  warfare 
against  disease,  not  only  in  the  army  itself,  but  also  in  the 
Panama  Canal  Zone,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  the  Philip-   jjealth  work 
pines,  and  other    regions  occupied  by  the  army,    of  other 
The  Department  of  Labor  seeks  to  improve  the     ^^^^  ™^°  ^ 
physical  conditions  of  labor  for  both  men  and  women,  and  its 
Children's  Bureau  is  charged  with  a  study  of  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  welfare  of  children.    In  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
the  Census  Bureau  collects  national  vital  statistics;  the  Bureau  of 
Mines  has  done  valuable  work  for  the  prevention  of  accidents  in 
mines  and  mining  industries;  and  the  Bureau  of  Education  seeks 
to  promote  physical  education,  instruction  in  home  economics, 
and  education  in  the  home  relating  to  the  care  of  children. 

The  United  States  Public  Health  Service  in  the  Treasury 
Department  investigates  diseases  and'health  conditions  and  the 
means  of  controlling  them.     It  issues  reports  and   -pj^^  Public 
other  publications  of  great  value  to    the    citizen.   Health 
some  of  them  being  listed  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.       ^^'^^ 
It  has  representatives  in  all  important  foreign  ports,  inspects  all 


192  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

ships  that  enter  American  harbors,  and  holds  them  in  quarantine 
until  they  and  their  passengers  are  given  a  clean  bill  of  health. 
Cholera  and  other  dangerous  diseases  have  thus  been  prevented 
from  gaining  a  foothold  on  American  soil. 

It  is  never  to  be  forgotten  that  all  this  governmental  ma- 
chinery is  merely  our  organization  to  facilitate  cooperation  for 
Voluntary  health  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  that  it  will 
agencies  of  fail  to  secure  the  results  for  which  it  was  created 
coopera  ion  unless  ^^g  people  actually  cooperate  with  it.  There 
are  numerous  voluntary  organizations  to  promote  such  coopera- 
tion —  more  than  fifty  national  organizations  concerned  with 
child  health  alone,  and  several  times  as  many  interested  in  other 
aspects  of  public  health.  A  few  of  the  best  known  of  these  are 
the  American  Red  Cross,  the  National  Organization  for  Public 
Health  Nursing,  the  National  Tuberculosis  Association,  the 
American  Child  Hygiene  Association,  and  the  Child  Health 
Organization  of  America. 

The  young  people  of  America  may  have,  and  do  have,  an 
important  part  in  this  team  work  for  health.  There  are  several 
The  oppor-  .  national  organizations  for  this  purpose,  notably 
You/k°  the  Junior  Red  Cross  and  the  Health  Crusaders. 

America  In  many  schools  there  are  health  clubs.    In  Arling- 

ton County,  Va.,  referred  to  above  (page  189),  the  pupils  in 
every  school  are  organized  as  Junior  Health  Departments,  each 
with  a  boy  health  officer  and  a  girl  health  officer,  and  each  carry- 
ing on  an  interesting  and  important  health  program,  cooperating 
closely  with  the  county  health  officer  and  the  public  health  nurse 
for  all  that  makes  a  healthy  and  healthful  county. 

Make  a  study  of  the  organization  of  your  city  health  department.  Com- 
pare with  the  statements  made  in  the  text.  Is  your  city  health  organization 
efficient?  If  you  thinii  not,  why?  How  would  you  improve  it?  Is  it  really 
a  means  of  cooperation? 

How  much  money  is  spent  annually  by  your  city  for  the  work  of  its 
health  department?  How  much  is  spent  per  inhabitant  per  year?  Is  it 
enough?    Why  is  not  more  spent? 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  1 93 

Make  a  study  of  your  county  health  organization. 

Make  a  study  of  the  organization  and  work  of  your  state  department  of 
health.    What  help  does  your  city  get  from  the  state  department  of  health? 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  sanitation  of  the  Canal  Zone;  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands;  of  Cuba  at  the  close  of  the  Spanish  War. 

Report  on  the  methods  and  results  of  the  inspection  of  immigrants. 

Write  a  theme  on  "The  United  States  Army  as  a  Life  Saver." 

How  are  we  protected  from  Asiatic  cholera  and  the  bubonic  plague? 

What  voluntary  health  organizations  are  at  work  in  your  city?  What 
are  they  doing? 

Do  the  people  of  your  city  cooperate  fully  and  effectively  in  health  matters? 

Find  out  what  you  can  about  methods  by  which  school  children  may 
cooperate  in  community  health  work. 

READINGS 

Reports  and  other  publications  of  local  and  state  departments  of  health. 
Publications  of  the  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service.    For  example: 

Federal  Public  Health  Administration:    Its  Development  and  Present  Status. 

Reprint  No.  112,  1913. 
Public  Health  Reports.   Issued  weekly.    For  example: 

1919,  No.  16,  Health  Insurance. 

1919,  No.  13,  The  Nation's  Physical  Fitness. 
Supplements.   For  example: 

No.    4,  The  Citizen  and  Public  Health. 

No.    5,  Fighting  Trim:  The  Importance  of  Right  Living. 

No.  24,  Exercise  and  Health. 

No.  29,  The  Transmission  of  Disease  by  Flies. 

No.  30,  Common  Colds. 

No.  31,  Safe  Milk. 
PubUc  Health  Bulletins.    For  example: 

No.  32,  Hookworm  Disease. 

No.  36,  Nature  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis. 

No.  69,  Typhoid  Fever. 

No.  102,  Home-made  Milk  Refrigerator. 

No.  103,  The  Rat. 
Reprints.   For  example:  ' 

No.  504.  Sewage  from  the  Single  House. 

No.  517,  Is  Your  Community  Fit? 
Publications  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Farmers'  Bulletins.    For  example: 

No.  375,  Care  of  Food  in  the  Home. 

No.  602,  Production  of  Clean  Milk. 

No.  851,  The  House  Fly. 


194  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Year  Book. 

1913,  PP-  125-134,  Health  Laws. 

i9iS>  PP-  159-172,  Animal  Disease  and  Our  Food  Supply. 

1916,  pp.  77-98,  Meat  Inspection  Service  of  the  U.  S.  Deportment  of  Agriculture. 
Publications  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  Department  of  Labor. 

Bureau  Publications.    For  example: 
No.    8,  Infant  Care. 
No.  35,  Milk. 

No.  61,  Save  the  Youngest. 
No.  64,  Every  Child  in  School. 
Publications  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  C,  Lesson  19,  How  the  City  Cares  for  Health. 

Lesson  32,  Housing  for  Workers. 
Series  B,  Lesson    4,  Feeding  a  City. 

Lesson    7,  An  Intelligent  Diet. 

Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Public  Health  Service. 
Health  Education  Series. 

No.  7,  The  School  Lunch. 
Bulletins: 

igio,  No.    5,  American  Schoolhouses. 
1313,  No.  44,  Organized  Health  Work  in  Schools. 
No.  48,  School  Hygiene. 
No.  52,  Sanitary  Schoolhouses. 

1914,  No.  10,  Physical  Growth  and  School  Progress. 

No.  17,  Sanitary  Survey  of  the  Schools  of  Orange  County,  Va. 
No.  20,  The  Rural  School  and  Hookworm  Disease. 

1915,  No.    4,  The  Health  of  School  Children. 
No.  21,  Schoolhouse  Sanitation. 

No.  50,  Health  of  School  Children. 

1917,  No.  50,  Physical  Education  in  Secondary  Schools. 
1919,  No.    2,  Standardization  of  Medical  Inspection  Facilities. 

No.  65,  The  Eyesight  of  School  Children. 
Dunn,  .\rthur  W.,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap.  xx.    (Heath.) 
Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  City  Government,  pp.  261-282. 

Payne,  E.  George,  Education  in  Accident  Prevention.    (Lyons  and  Carnahan,  N.Y.) 

Prepared  at  the  request  and  with  the  approval  of  the  National  Safety  Council. 

Towne,  E.  T.,  Social  Problems,  chap,  xvii,  "Conservation  of  Human  Life."  (Macmil- 

lan.) 
For  a  list  of  "valuable,  dependable,  interesting,  and  readable"  books  on  personal 
and  public  health  write  to  the  Health  Service,  American  Red  Cross,  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  "Suggestions  for  the  Health  Center  Library."  A  very  few  titles  from 
this  list  are  given  below: 
TITb  New  Public  Health,   H.  W.  Hill.    (Macmillan.) 
Community  Hygiene,   A.  C.  Burnham.    (Macmillan.) 


THE  COMMUNITY'S  HEALTH  1 95 

Home  and  Community  Hygiene,   J.  Broadhurst.    (Lippincott.) 

American  Red  Cross  Textbook  on  Home  Hygiene  and  Care  of  the  Sick,    (P.  Blakis- 

ton's  Sons  &  Co.) 
Public  Health  Nursing,   M.  S.  Gardner.    (Macmillan.) 
The  Battle  with  Tuberculosis,   M.  King.    (Lippincott.) 
American  Red  Cross  Textbook  on  First  Aid,    (P.  Blakiston's  Sons  &  Co.) 
Civilization  and  Health,   Woods  Hutchinson.    (Houghton  MiiSin  Co.) 
Primer  of  Sanitation,  J.  W.  Ritchie.    (World  Book  Co.) 
Town  and  City,   Mrs.  F.  G.  Jewett.    (Ginn  &  Co.) 


CHAPTER  XII 

SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS 

"In  the  great  march  of  the  nations  towards  a  perfect  civilization,  one  race  has 
forged  ahead  in  reverence,  another  in  justice,  another  in  knowledge,  another  in 
power,  another  in  art.  But  the  nation  that  gathers  these  all  up  into  one  coordi- 
nated whole  is  the  nation  towards  which  civilization  tends,  and  wherein  the  com- 
plete man  shall  live  nohly  and  happily."  —  Allen  B.  Pond. 

Several  times  in  the  preceding  chapters  reference  has  been 
made  to  our  national  purpose  "to  transmute  days  of  dreary- 
Satisfaction  work  into  happier  lives."  This  does  not  mean  to 
of  higher  get  rid  of  work;  for  happiness  can  be  attained  only 

'^^^  ^  in  work  and  through  work.    But  there  never  was  a 

truer  statement  than  that  "all  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a 
dull  boy."  In  return  for  his  work  every  citizen  is  entitled  to 
enough  compensation  to  enable  him  to  provide  not  only  for  the 
bare  necessities  of  life,  such  as  food  and  shelter,  but  also  for  the 
pleasure  that  he  derives  from  the  satisfaction  of  his  higher 
wants,  such  as  social  life  and  recreation,  an  education  that  will 
give  him  a  richer  enjoyment  of  life,  pleasant  surroundings, 
religious  advantages. 

All  these  things  have  much  to  do  with  our  national  well- 
being  and  our  citizenship.  Our  nation  is  democratic  only  in 
Equality  of  proportion  to  the  equality  of  opportunity  enjoyed 
opportunity  to  by  all  citizens  to  satisfy  these  wants.  Moreover, 
enjoy     e  ^^^^  efficiency  of  each  citizen  in  productive  work  and 

as  a  participator  in  self-government  depends  more  than  we 
sometimes  think  upon  his  opportunity  to  "enjoy  life"  in  pleasant 
surroundings  and  in  wholesome  social  relations.  In  the  past 
the  citizen  has  been  left  largely  to  his  own  resources  and  to 

196 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  I97 

purely  voluntary  cooperation  to  provide  for  these  wants.  Gov- 
ernment has  not  even  adequately  protected  his  rights  of  this 
kind,  to  say  nothing  of  positively  promoting  them.  At  present, 
however,  community  team  work  through  government  is  being 


A  Typical  Playground  in  Chicago 


organized  as  never  before  both  to  promote  and  to  protect  the 
interests  of  all  citizens  in  the  fullest  possible  enjoyment  of  life. 

Recreation  and  Social  Life 

Children  enjoy  play  because  it  satisfies  physical,  mental,  and 
social  wants.  But  it  is  also  the  principal  means  by  which  they 
prepare  for  the  more  serious  duties  of  later  life.  The  value 
It  builds  up  health,  trains  the  muscles  and  the  °^  P^^y 
senses,  and  sharpens  the  wits.  It  gives  practice  in  team  work, 
develops  leadership,  and  teaches  the  value  of  "rules  of  the 
game."  Every  child  is  entitled  to  an  abundant  opportunity  to 
play,  both  because  of  the  happiness  it  affords  him  and  because 
by  it  he  is  trained  for  membership  in  the  community.    It  is  to 


198  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  interest  of  the  community  to  afford  him  the  opportunity. 
It  is  largely  for  this  reason  that  most  of  the  states  protect 
children  by  law  from  being  put  to  work  for  a  living  at  too  early 
an  age. 

In  large  cities  thousands  of  children  live  in  crowded  districts 
where  there  is  no  place  to  play  except  in  the  public  streets, 
ortunities   ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^"^^  ^^  appreciated  the  importance  of 
for  play  in        play  in  the  development  of  young  citizens  that  great 
^^^^^^  numbers  of  schools  have  been  built  with  no  pro- 

vision whatever  for  playgrounds.  This  mistake  is  slowly  being 
corrected,  often  at  great  expense.  No  school  is  now  considered 
first-class  if  it  does  not  have  an  ample  and  well-equipped  play- 
ground, with  competent  directors  to  teach  children  how  to  get 
the  most  out  of  their  play.  Most  cities  are  also  estabhshing 
public  playgrounds  apart  from  the  schools,  sometimes  under 
the  management  of  the  school  board,  but  often  under  that  of  a 
special  playground  or  recreation  commission. 

Under  the  heading,  "What  Do  Playgrounds  Cost,  and  Are  They  Worth 
While,"  The  American  City  for  July,  1920,  says: 

"It  is  notable  that  the  verdicts  from  those  cities  which  reported  the  heavi- 
est expenditures  are  the  most  enthusiastic  and  outspoken.  Brookline, 
Mass.,  which  paid  $500,000  for  its  playground  and  spends  $7,100  yearly  on 
its  upkeep,  regards  it  as  a  'paying  investment.'  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  appro- 
priating $5,000  a  year  on  its  six  playgrounds,  says  that  'no  feature  of  the  city 
has  done  so  much  good.'  Macon,  Ga.,  already  spending  $8,000  a  year, 
intends  to  establish  a  playground  for  colored  children.  Newton,  Mass., 
appropriates  annually  $21,000  to  $25,000  for  supervision,  maintenance  and 
equipment,  and  the  opinion  of  its  citizens  regarding  the  work  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  last  year  a  new  playground  valued  at  $125,000  was  donated  to 
the  city.  The  final  word  of  approval  comes  from  East  Orange,  N.J.,  which 
votes  $8,500  for  annual  costs:  'It  is  the  only  thing  taxpayers  never  complain 
about.'" 

On  a  map  of  your  city  mark  in  all  the  public  schools.  Color  in  one  color 
all  those  that  have  playgrounds,  and  those  that  have  none  in  another  color. 
Make  a  cross,  or  other  distinguishing  mark,  for  those  that  are  equipped  with 
play  apparatus. 


SOCIAL,  ^ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS 


199 


In  which  sections  of  the  city  is  there  the  greatest  need  for  school  play- 
grounds? Why?  According  to  your  map,  is  this  need  met?  Why  are  not 
playgrounds  immediately  provided  for  all  schools  of  the  city? 

Locate  on  your  map  public  playgrounds  not  attached  to  schools.  Are 
there  enough  such  playgrounds?    Are  they  well  located? 

Who  is  responsible  for  the  management  of  playgrounds  in  your  city? 


-5j^i^P''*S!^P'^''*^ 

/w^-'-^'lm...  M-|tf|,H a  rf^^Mi 

»if.,  ,,-v«>   Jit 

A  Playground  in  San  Francisco 


Is  the  play  of  the  children  directed?    If  so,  by  whom?    Why  is  direction 
necessary? 

How  could  your  own  playground  be  improved? 

As  children  grow  older,  an  increasing  part  of  their  time  must 
be  given  to  work  —  school  work,  tasks  at  home,  remunerative 
employment  outside  of  the  home.  After  leaving  Meaning  of 
school  and  throughout  adult  life,  work  absorbs  the  recreation 
major  part  of  one's  time  and  attention.  But  even  then,  "all 
work  and  no  play"  will  continue  to  "make  Jack  a  dull  boy." 
We  now  call  play  "recreation,"  for  by  it  body  and  mind  and 
spirit  are  refreshed,  renewed,  re-created,  after  close  application 
to  work.    That  is  why  school  work  is  broken  by  "recesses." 


200  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Recreation  is  necessary  as  a  means  of  providing  for  physical, 
mental,  and  social  wants;  for  the  pleasure  that  it  affords.  But 
it  is  also  important  in  its  relation  to  work,  for  without  it  body 
and  mind  become  "fagged,"  people  grow  ''stale"  at  their  work, 
producing  power  and  power  of  service  are  reduced.  Employers 
recognize  this  more  clearly  than  they  once  did,  and  large  indus- 
trial establishments,  department  stores,  telephone  exchanges, 
and  the  like,  frequently  provide  recreational  facilities  for  their 
employees  —  rest  rooms,  reading  rooms,  game  rooms,  gymna- 
siums, music. 

It  is  very  easy  to  get  out  of  the  habit  of  play,  and  especially 
difhcult  to  form  the  habit  in  adult  life  if  it  has  not  been  done  in 
The  habit  youth.  People  often  become  so  absorbed  in  work 
of  play  ^]^g^^  there  seems  to  be  no  time  for  recreation.    In 

such  cases  not  only  is  the  enjoyment  of  life  narrowed,  but  there 
is  a  risk  of  damaging  the  quality  of  one's  work  and  even  of  short- 
ening one's  life  of  productive  activity,  or  of  service. 

Every  worker  is  entitled  to  opportunity  for  recreation,  both 
for  his  own  sake  and  for  the  well-being  of  the  community. 
Leisure  a  re-  This  means,  first  of  all,  that  he  must  have  leisure 
quirement  fQj.  jj^_  When  people  have  to  work  hard  for  ten  or 
twelve  or  more  hours  a  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  as  was  once 
customary  in  industry,  there  is  neither  time  nor  energy  for 
wholesome  recreation.  That  such  conditions  existed,  and  still 
exist  to  a  considerable  extent,  is  due  to  gross  imperfections  in 
the  industrial  organization  of  the  community.  One  of  the 
evidences  of  progress  toward  "transmuting  days  of  dreary 
work  into  happier  lives"  is  the  reduction  in  the  hours  of  toil  in 
many  industries,  and  the  consequent  increase  of  leisure  for  the 
enjoyment  of  life  and  for  self-improvement. 

One  of  the  things  for  which  labor  unions  have  struggled  is  the  shorten- 
ing of  the  working  day.  Through  their  efforts,  and  through  the  awakening 
of  pubHc  interest  and  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  matter,  the  working 
day  is  now  fixed  by  law  at  eight  hours  in  most  industries,  often  with  a  half 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  20I 

holiday  on  Saturdays.  Experience  has  shown  that  this  change  in  no  way 
reduces  the  product  of  industry.  There  are  still  some  industries,  however,  in 
which  men  toil  at  the  hardest  kind  of  labor  for  twelve  or  more  hours  a  day, 
sometimes  even  including  Sundays. 


A  Wading  Pool  in  Los  Angeles 

Most  of  the  children  who  use  this  pool  and  the  playground  in  which  it  is  located 
are  from  Russian  families. 


A  second  thing  necessary  to  afford  opportunity  for  recreation 
is  an  income  from  one's  work  sufficient  to  provide  more  than 
the  bare  necessities  of  hfe.  Before  the  war,  it  is  a  living  wage 
said,  more  than  five  milHon  famiUes,  or  about  one  ^  necessity 
fourth  of  the  famihes  in  the  United  States,  were  trying  to  live 
on  a  wage  of  $50  a  month,  or  less.  During  the  war,  wages  of 
skilled  and  unskilled  labor  shot  upward;  but  so,  also,  did  the  cost 
of  living.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  just  what  share  of  the 
proceeds  of  industry  should,  in  justice,  go  to  the  laborer  in 
wages.     But  it  should  be  enough  to  provide  not  only  for  food 


202  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

and  clothing  and  shelter,  but  also  for  decent  family  life,  for 
healthful  surroundings,  for  education  for  the  children,  and  for 
wholesome  recreation. 

Labor  unions  and  others  interested  in  a  fairer  distribution  of  the  proceeds 
of  industry  have  long  been  working  for  the  enactment  of  "minimum  wage 
laws,"  that  is,  laws  fixing  the  least  wage  that  may  be  paid  for  each  class  of 
labor,  this  to  be  enough  to  provide  reasonable  satisfaction  of  all  the  wants 
of  life.  Some  states  have  already  enacted  such  laws,  and  during  the  recent 
war  the  federal  government  in  some  cases  fixed  rates  of  wages,  and  appointed 
labor  boards  to  adjust  wages  to  the  rising  cost  of  living. 

Leisure  and  income,  however,  do  not  sufhce  for  recreation 
unless  they  are  wisely  used.  Mere  idleness  is  not  recreation; 
The  wise  use  and  many  people  use  their  leisure  in  dissipation 
of  leisure  instead   of   in   recreation.      "Dissipation"   is   the 

opposite  of  thrift.  It  means  to  "  throw  away,"  or  to  be  wasteful. 
A  person  may  "dissipate"  his  income.  We  have  come  to  under- 
stand the  word  "dissipation,"  however,  to  mean  excessive 
indulgence  in  pleasures  or  amusements  that  are  wasteful  of  time, 
energy,  or  health,  or  all  three;  and  we  call  the  person  "dissi- 
pated" who  is  addicted  to  such  indulgence.  Any  amusement, 
even  though  harmless  in  itself,  may  become  dissipation  if 
indulged  in  to  excess,  or  at  the  sacrifice  of  other  things  that  are 
better,  as  in  the  case  of  going  to  the  "movies." 

In  your  own  case,  is  "going  to  the  movies"  recreation  or  dissipation? 
What  qualities  must  a  moving  picture  entertainment  possess  to  make  it 
wholesome  recreation? 

To  what  extent  do  business  and  manufacturing  establishments  in  your 
community  provide  for  the  recreation  of  their  employees?  Select  one  that 
does  most  in  this  direction  and  describe  what  it  does. 

Compare  wage  earners  in  your  community  to-day  with  those  of  your 
father's  childhood  with  respect  to  the  amount  of  leisure  they  enjoy  (consult 
your  father) .  From  your  own  observation,  to  what  use  is  leisure  put  by  wage 
earners  of  your  acquaintance? 

How  does  your  father  get  recreation?    Your  mother? 

What  is  the  length  of  the  working  day  for  the  different  employments  with 
which  you  are  acquainted  in  your  city? 


SOCIAL,  .ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS 


203 


Communities  often  lack  adequate  facilities  for  recreation. 
This  is  especially  true  of  small  communities.  In  large  cities  the 
best  and  the  worst  of  everything  may  usually  be  found,  and  this 
is  true  of  the  means  of  amusement.  But  the  better  forms  of 
amusement  and  of  recreation  are  often  beyond  the  reach  of  large 
numbers  of  the  population,  while  cheap  amusement  and  oppor- 


Recreation  for  Employees  of  a  Soap  Factory 


tunities  for  dissipation  beckon  on  every  hand.  The  saloon  has 
been  called  the  "poor  man's  club,"  and  owed  its  popularity, 
before  it  was  abolished  by  prohibition,  very  largely  to  its  sociable 
atmosphere.  Every  community  has  its  well-known  "loafing 
places." 

The  more  harmful  amusements  and  places  of  dissipation  are 
more  or  less  regulated  by  law.  The  saloon  has  been  abolished. 
Gambling  is  usually  unlawful,  at  least  in  its  more  obvious  forms. 
Dance  halls  are  supervised.  Even  moving  pictures  are  "cen- 
sored." But  the  most  effective  preventive  of  dissipation  is 
ample  provision  for  wholesome  recreation.    Many  of  our  cities 


204 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


give  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  the  recreational  life  of  their 
people.  The  city's  parks  give  opportunity  for  outdoor  life,  and 
many  of  them  include  playgrounds  and  recreation  centers,  which 
on  Saturdays,  Sundays,  holidays,  and  late  afternoons,  swarm 
with  thousands  of  people,  young  and  old,  participating  in  or 
watching  sports  of  many  kinds,  or  enjoying  family  and  friendly 


The  Girls'  House  at  a  Country  Club 
Supported  by  an  industrial  plant 

parties  in  the  open.  Public  bathing  places  are  provided,  and 
cities  with  water  fronts  often  provide  recreation  piers.  Free  band 
concerts  are  a  common  institution,  and  sometimes  municipal 
theaters  are  supported.  School  buildings  are  coming  to  be  more 
and  more  widely  used  as  "community  centers"  where  the 
people  of  the  neighborhood  may  gather  for  social  entertainments 
as  well  as  for  serious  instruction. 

The  preceding  paragraph  refers  to  forms  of  recreation  pro- 
vided and  supervised  by  the  city  government,  usually  through 
its  department  of  education  or  its  department  of  parks  and 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS 


205 


playgrounds.  '  Recreation  is  still  chiefly  a  matter  of  private 
initiative  and  support.  It  is  largely  provided  on  a  commercial 
basis,  as  in  the  case  of  theaters,  concerts,  amusement  parks, 
athletic  clubs,  and  the  like.  Many  of  these  perform  valuable 
service,  but  too  often  they  are  either  beyond  the  financial  reach 


^^^jk  1  r»   J          ^j^'' 

iai?' 

Almost  Every  Community  Has  Its  Loafing  Place 


of  most  people,  or  are  socially  exclusive,  or  are  of  a  low  order 
of  merit. 

Many  voluntary  agencies  exist  to  extend  recreational 
opportunity  and  to  improve  its  quality.  Only  a  few  of 
these  can  be  mentioned  here.  Philanthropic  insti-  Voluntary 
tutions  or  associations  have  established  social  associations 
settlements  in  the  poorer  districts  of  our  larger  cities,  where 
wholesome  amusements  and  social  life  are  provided.  The 
Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian  Associations,  the 
Young  Men's  Hebrew  Association,  and  the  Catholic  Knights 
of  Columbus,  have  performed  a  notable  service  in  furnishing 


2o6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


means  of  recreation  to  young  men  and  women.  The  Boy  Scouts, 
Girl  Scouts,  Girl  Pioneers,  and  Campfire  Girls  owe  their  success 
chiefly  to  the  wholesome  recreation  they  afford.  The  purpose  of 
all  of  them  may  be  suggested  by  the  words  applied  to  one  of 


Community  Music 


them:  "An  organized  effort  to  teach  girls  to  find  romance,  beauty 
and  adventure  in  everyday  life,  to  work  together,  to  give  com- 
munity and  personal  service,  and  to  make  the  homely  tasks 
contribute  to  the  joy  of  living." 

The  Playground  and  Recreation  Association  of  America  seeks 
"to  direct  and  develop  interest  in  playgrounds,  to  promote 
wholesome  recreation  for  young  and  old,  and  to  assist  communi- 
ties to  establish  year-round  recreation  systems  supported  or 
administered  by  municipal  departments."  Community  Ser- 
vice, Incorporated,  had  its  origin  during  the  war  to  provide 
recreation  for  the  soldiers,  but  it  continues  in  an  effort  to  "help 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  207 

people  of  American  communities  to  organize  for  the  employ- 
ment of  their  leisure  time  to  the  best  advantage  for  recreation  and 
good  citizenship." 


A  Beautiful  Tenement  Yard  in  Congested  New  York  City 
Beauty  in  one's  surroundings  adds  much  to  the  enjoyment  of  life 

The  trouble,  however,  is  not  wholly  due  to  a  lack  of  means  of 
recreation,  nor  to  lack  of  leisure  to  enjoy  them,  but  also  to  a 
lack  of  appreciation  of  the  best  forms  of  recreation  and  of 
knowledge  of  how  to  make  the  most  of  recreational  opportunities. 
People  need  to  have  their  taste  for  the  best  forms  of  recreation 
cultivated,  and  to  be  educated  in  wise  methods  of  using  leisure. 
The  opportunity  for  recreation  is  largely  dependent  upon  one's 
own  capacity  to  get  enjoyment  out  of  life.  It  is  also  largely  a 
matter  of  thrift  in  the  use  of  leisure  time.    All  of  this  requires 


2o8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

education.     Education  for  the  wise  use  of  leisure  is  equally 
important  with  education  for  one's  vocation. 

What  forms  of  amusement  and  entertainment  are  regulated  by  law  in  your 
city?  In  the  case  of  each,  what  are  some  of  the  regulations?  What  means 
are  adopted  to  see  that  the  regulations  are  observed?  Why  should  each  of 
the  amusements  named  need  regulation? 

List  and  locate  places  of  recreation  provided  or  administered  by  your  city 
government.  What  departments  of  the  government  are  responsible  for 
them? 

Describe  the  recreational  activities  of  the  various  voluntary  associations 
mentioned  on  pages  205-206,  so  far  as  they  exist  in  your  city. 

Make  a  list  of  other  voluntary-  agencies  for  the  promotion  of  recreation  in 
your  city. 

Is  interest  in  wholesome  recreation  increasing  in  your  city?  Give  evidence 
of  it. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  Playground  and  Recreation  Association  of 
America.    On  Community  Service,  Incorporated. 

What  agencies  are  involved  in  providing  your  community  with  moving 
picture  entertainments?    How  are  moving  pictures  censored? 

In  what  ways  does  your  school  educate  for  the  wise  use  of  leisure? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  the  statement  that  "  the  boy  without  a  playground 
is  father  to  the  man  without  a  job"  ? 

Attractive  Surroundings 

Beauty  in  one's  surroundings  adds  much  to  the  enjoyment  of 
life,  and  therefore,  also,  to  one's  efficiency  in  work  and  as  a 

Appreciation      Citizen. 

of  that  which  People  are  often  apparently  blind  to  the  beauty 
that  is  around  them.  "Having  eyes,  they  see  not; 
and  ears,  they  hear  not."  Those  who  Hve  in  the  open  country 
are  surrounded  by  natural  beauties  of  which  city  dwellers  are 
largely  deprived.  Too  often,  however,  they  are  unconscious 
of  them  or  indifferent  to  them.  To  the  hard-working  farmer  a 
gorgeous  sunset  may  be  little  more  than  a  sign  of  the  weather  on 
the  morrow,  and  the  beauty  of  a  field  of  wheat  or  corn  may  be 
lost  in  the  thought  of  the  toil  that  has  gone  into  it,  or  of  the 
dollars  that  may  come  out  of  it.    Fortunate  is  the  rural  dweller 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  209 

whose  toil  and  isolation  are  tempered  by  an  appreciation  of  the 
beauties  of  the  natural  world  about  him! 

Love  for  and  appreciation  of  that  which  is  beautiful  may  be 
cultivated.  It  is  a  part  of  one's  education.  The  schools  now 
give  more  attention  to  it  than  formerly;  but  its  cultiva- 
many  of  them  do  not  yet  give  enough.  Apprecia-  *'°" 
tion  of  beauty  is  cultivated  not  merely  by  instruction  in  "art," 
but  also  by  those  studies  that  increase  one's  knowledge  of  the 
common  things  about  us.  The  teaching  of  agriculture  or  of 
science  has  a  very  practical  purpose;  but  its  purpose  is  only 
partly  accomplished  if  it  teaches  us  how  to  raise  corn  or  cotton 
without  opening  our  eyes  to  the  wonders  of  nature  involved  in 
the  process. 

An  appreciation  of  beauty  may  be  cultivated,  also,  by  associa- 
tion with  it,  as  it  may  be  destroyed  by  constant  association  with 
that  which  is  ugly.  People  who  live  in  unkempt  and  slovenly 
surroundings  are  likely  to  become  indifferent  to  them.  It  is 
the  duty  of  every  one  to  have  a  care  for  the  appearance  of  his 
surroundings  both  because  of  its  effect  upon  himself  and  its 
influence  upon  others. 

A  stranger  who  visits  our  school  is  hkely  to  judge  it,  first 
of  all,  by  its  appearance.  He  will  note  whether  or  not  the 
building  is  in  good  repair,  the  condition  of  the  importance  of 
grounds  and  fences,  the  presence  or  absence  of  appearances 
flower  beds,  shrubs,  and  trees.  Inside,  he  will  observe  the 
cleanliness  and  orderliness  of  the  room,  the  decorations  on  the 
walls,  the  presence  or  absence  of  pictures  and  flowers  and 
plants;  yes,  and  also  the  care  pupils  and  teacher  take  of  their 
personal  appearance.  These  things  are  signs  to  the  visitor  of 
the  interest  taken  by  pupils,  school  authorities,  and  the  com- 
mimity  in  their  school.  They  are  also  signs  of  the  character 
of  the  work  done  in  the  school,  and  of  the  happiness  of  the  pupils. 

In  a  similar  manner,  the|  visitor  to  our  community  will  form 
his  first  opinion  of  it  by  its  appearance.    He  will  note,  first  of 


"Stores  Trespass  upon  the  Public  Way  and  Display  Ugly  Signs  ' 


The  Same  View  as  Above  After  Signs,  Poles,  and  Wires  Were 
Removed  and  a  Boulevard  Lighting  System  Installed 

By  courtesy  of  Frank  Koester,  New  York  City,  Advisory  City  Planner  and  Street 
Lighting  Expert  for  Allentown,  Pa. 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  2ii 

all,  the  appearance  of  the  homes,  and  then,  probably,  the 
cleanliness  and  state  of  repair  of  the  streets.  He  will  notice, 
also,  the  extent  to  which  the  people  love  flowers,  ^  community 
and  care  for  trees  and  vacant  lots.  All  of  these  judged  by 
things  will  be  signs  to  him  of  the  prosperity,  the  ^pp®^^^°^^^ 
happiness,  the  "community  spirit,"  of  the  citizens.  They  will 
doubtless  enter  into  his  decision  as  to  whether  or  not  he  cares 
to  live,  or  establish  a  business,  or  educate  his  children,  in  that 
community. 

What  impression  would  a  stranger  get  of  your  community  from  its  appear- 
ance, especially  with  reference  to  the  community  spirit?  What  features  in 
the  neighborhood  of  your  school  would  probably  attract  his  attention? 

What  features  in  the  appearance  of  your  community  give  you  a  feeling  of 
pride?  a  feeling  of  shame? 

Is  your  school  as  attractive  as  you  would  like  to  see  it?  In  what  respects 
do  you  think  it  could  be  improved?  What  could  you,  in  co5peration  with 
other  pupils,  do  to  achieve  the  desired  improvement? 

America  is  a  young  nation  and,  like  many  young  people  when 
starting  out  in  life,  has  been  too  absorbed  in  the  so-called 
practical  affairs  to  think  as  much  as  it  should  American 
about  some  of  the  finer  things  that  make  life  neglect  of 
worth  living.  The  beauty  that  characterizes  ^^"  ^ 
many  cities  of  the  older  countries  is  the  result  of  centuries  of 
growth  and  of  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  that  Americans, 
generally  speaking,  seem  not  to  have  attained,  or  to  have  sub- 
ordinated to  other  interests.  In  traveling  through  the  United 
States  one  is  likely  to  be  impressed  by  the  monotonous  and 
unattractive  appearance  of  the  towns  and  villages.  Occasion- 
ally, in  parts  of  the  country  that  have  been  settled  longest, 
one  sees  beautiful  communities  that  fit  harmoniously  into 
the  landscape,  and  whose  architecture  is  in  pleasing  taste.  But 
such  communities  are  rather  exceptional.  American  cities  have 
grown  rapidly,  and  for  the  most  part  seem  to  have  been  thrown 
together,  or  permitted  to  grow  up,  without  plan  and  with  an 


212 


COMMUNiTY  CIVICS 


eye  solely  to  provide  shelter,  or  for  immediate  business  utility. 
Top  often  the  American  city  is  characterized  by  the  following 
description: 


The  City  of  Boston 
Note  the  extreme  irregularity  of  the  streets,  some  of  those  in  the  business  sec- 
tion being  very  narrow  and  crooked.  Boston  just  "  grew  up,"  in  contrast  with 
the  carefully  planned  city  of  Washington.  Note  the  network  of  highways  in  the 
background,  connecting  the  city  with  the  adjacent  suburban  and  rural  communities 
(seepage  64). 

"What  is  the  great  city  of  to-day?  Wide  regions  given  up  to  manufacture 
where  forbidding,  untidy  premises  sacred  to  utility  and  greed  invite  the  work- 
man to  his  daily  toil.  Commercial  districts  where  dowdy  stores  trespass 
upon  the  public  way  and  vie  with  each  other  in  the  display  of  ugly  signs,  and 
where  uncleanly  booths  and  hucksters'  stands  obtrude  themselves  into  the 
thoroughfare.  Here  and  there  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  city 
rude  hoardings  smite  the  eye  with  flashy  posters  and  coarsely  painted  adver- 
tisements. The  householder  and  the  storekeeper,  educated  downwards  by 
their  daily  environment,  dump  cans,  sweepings  and  debris  in  the  street  and 
alley;  and  the  passerby  drops  his  newspaper  in  the  open  car  or  flings  it  to 
the  ground,  and  with  it  any  other  thing  he  chances  to  have  in  hand  and  does 
not  wish  to  keep.  Street  after  street  where  rows  of  houses,  —  for  the  most 
part  ugly  or  tasteless  when  new  and  now  helpless  and  resigned,  begrimed  by 
soot  or  shabby  with  decay,  —  stare  forlornly  at  still  other  rows  disconsolate 
across  the  way."  ^ 

1  Allen  B.  Pond,  The  Gospel  oj  Beauty. 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  213 

The  attractiveness  of  a  community  depends  largely  upon  the 
attractiveness  of  the  homes  and  other  properties  that  comprise 
it.    The  responsibility  for  the  community's  appear-    opportunity 
ance  goes  back  in  no  small  measure  to  those  who    for  leader- 
occupy  the  homes  or  own  the  properties.     There  is    ^  '^ 
nothing  in  which  the  influence  of  example  is  so  quickly  seen  as  in 
matters  relating  to  appearance.    People  copy  their  neighbors  in 
matters  of  style,  whether  it  be  in  dress  or  in  architecture.    This 
is  one  phase  of  community  life  in  which  it  is  easy  to  estabUsh 
leadership,  and  in  which  young  citizens  can  perform  valuable 
civic  service  and  contribute  materially  towards  making  the  com- 
munity a  better  place  in  which  to  live. 

In  one  rather  forlorn  section  of  a  large  city  a  number  of  schoolboys  who  - 
were  studying  civics  sought  permission  to  lay  sod  in  the  dooryard  of  a  neigh- 
boring tenement  house.  Permission  having  been  granted  and  the  sod  laid,  it 
was  not  long  before  some  one  else  in  the  neighborhood  did  likewise,  and  soon 
people  aU  around  were  sodding  their  yards  or  sowing  grass  seed.  Then  they 
began  to  repair  and  paint  their  fences  and  otherwise  to  "tidy  up"  their 
places,  until  the  whole  neighborhood  was  transformed  in  appearance.  It  is 
interesting  to  note,  also,  that  as  the  community  improved  in  appearance,  it 
also  became  less  lawless  than  it  had  been. 

Does  the  description  of  a  city  given  on  page  212  apply  to  your  city,  or  to 
any  portion  of  it?    In  what  respects? 

What  members  of  your  class  have  kodaks  or  cameras?  Could  you  not 
have  a  civics  camera  club?  A  collection  of  photographs  showing  beauty 
spots,  and  spots  that  need  beautification  in  your  neighborhood  would  help 
to  create  interest  in  the  matter. 

What  are  the  principal  faults  of  the  homes  of  your  neighborhood  with 
respect  to  appearance?  "Their  principal  attractive  features? 

Do  you  know  instances  in  which  the  example  of  an  individual  or  of  a  home 
has  spread  through  the  community? 

Why  might  improvement  in  the  appearance  of  a  neighborhood  tend  to 
improve  the  conduct  of  the  people  who  Uve  in  it? 

The  achievement  of  the  best  in  civic  beauty,  however,  cannot 
be  left  entirely  to  individual  initiative.    There  must    ^^^  ^.^     ^^^ 
be  a  certain  amount  of  community  control.      One 
means  of  control  is  to  have  a  plan.    Probably  the  most  beautiful 


214 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


city  in  the  United  States,  all  things  considered,  is  Washington, 
the  nation's  capital,  and  this  is  due  in  large  part  to  the  plan 
adopted  for  the  city  in  the  beginning. 

The  plan  for  the  city  of  Washington  was  drawn  by  Major  L'Enfant,  a 
French  engineer.  It  was  a  combination  of  the  rectangular,  or  "checker- 
board," street  plan  adopted  a  hundred  years  earlier  by  William  Penn  as  the 


Plan  of  the  City  of  Washington 


plan  for  Philadelphia  and  characteristic  of  most  American  cities,  with  a  plan 
of  radiating  streets  borrowed  from  European  cities.  The  Capitol  building 
is  one  center  from  which  streets  and  avenues  radiated  in  all  directions,  and 
a  mile  away  the  President's  mansion  is  another  such  center.  In  other  parts 
of  the  city  are  other  minor  centers  of  street  radiation.  Convenience  in  get- 
ting from  one  part  of  the  city  to  another  was  one  object  of  the  plan  (though 
strangers  are  often  confused  by  the  many  intersecting  streets),  but  it  has 
also  contributed  to  the  development  of  a  city  of  very  great  beauty.  For  one 
thing,  there  are  innumerable  "circles"  and  triangular  plots  of  ground  at 
points  where  several  streets  intersect,  all  of  which  have  been  transformed 
into  beautiful  little  parks,  often  adorned  with  monuments  or  fountains. 

A  number  of  American  cities  which  have  started  out  with 
plans  have  either  not  adhered  to  them  or  have  failed  to  revise 
and  develop  them  to  meet  conditions  of  growth  which  the  found- 
ers could  not  foresee.  There  must  be  continuous  control  over 
the  growth  of  a  city  if  its  beauty  is  to  be  preserved.    The  city  of 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS 


215 


Washington  is  fortunate  not  only  in  having  a  plan  comprehensive 
enough  in  its  main  features  to  meet  the  needs  of  growth,  but  also 
in  having  its  government  engineers  and  its  art  commission  to 
adapt  the  plan  to  new  conditions  as  they  arise,  and  to  pass  upon 
the  plans  and  location  of  buildings,  parks,  bridges,  and  other 
features.  But  even  Washington  has  not  been  entirely  safe- 
guarded against  the  growth  of  inharmonious  features.    Control 


Beauty  in  the  Street 
Note  the  ornamental  lighting  standards  and  the  shrubbery 


has  not  been  exercised  promptly  enough  in  all  cases  to  prevent 
private  interests,  intent  solely  on  profit,  from  erecting  inartistic 
rows  of  houses,  apartment  buildings,  and  business  blocks  (see 
page  121).  City  planning  is  now  receiving  a  great  deal  of  atten- 
tion, and  a  number  of  cities  have  their  boards  or  commissions  for 
this  purpose.  Since  the  "planning "  of  an  old  city  involves  much 
reconstruction,  it  entails  great  labor,  inconvenience,  and  expense; 
for  old  structures  have  to  be  torn  down  and  private  property 


2l6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

condemned  and  bought  for  the  widening  of  old  streets  and  the 
laying  out  of  new  ones. 

Many  factors  enter  into  the  beauty  of  a  city,  and  need  control. 
The  streets  must  be  well  planned,  well  paved,  and  thoroughly 
Factors  in  cleaned.  Their  lighting  system  should  give  an 
CIVIC  beauty  abundance  of  light  at  night,  while  not  marring  their 
beauty  in  the  day  time  with  unsightly  poles,  wires  and 
lamps.  A  forest  of  telephone,  telegraph,  electric  light  and 
trolley  poles,  with  network  of  wires,  is  unsightly,  and  in 
many  cities  is  eliminated  by  placing  wires  underground.  Sec- 
tions of  cities  are  made  both  unsafe  and  ugly  by  railroad 
tracks;  but  in  Washington,  for  example,  while  the  terminal 
station  for  all  railroads  is  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  it  is  itself  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  the  city,  and  all  tracks  pass 
through  the  city  underground.  The  same  is  true  of  the  railroads 
entering  the  Pennsylvania  and  the  Grand  Central  stations  in 
the  heart  of  New  York  City.  Bridges  may  be  monstrosities,  or 
beautiful  works  of  art.  Among  the  most  difficult  things  to  con- 
trol in  industrial  cities  is  smoke  that  clouds  the  atmosphere  and 
begrimes  people  and  buildings  alike;  and  in  cities,  villages,  and 
even  rural  districts,  there  is  the  billboard  that  "smites  the  eye 
with  flashy  posters  and  coarsely  painted  advertisements." 

"Man  —  the  city  maker  —  has  remade  his  environment,  and 
for  that  which  was  purely  natural  has  substituted  that  which  is 
Preserving  largely  artificial."  Fortunate  is  the  city  that  re- 
natural  tains  a  setting  of  natural  beauty.  For  years  fash- 
^^"  ^  ionable  Michigan  Avenue  in  down-town  Chicago 
was  separated  from  Lake  Michigan  by  unsightly  railroad 
tracks.  The  tracks  have  now  been  depressed  below  the 
ground  level  and  the  lake  front  improved ;  while  in  the  northern 
and  southern  sections  of  the  city  Lincoln  and  Jackson  Parks 
stretch  along  the  lake  shore  to  the  enjoyment  of  swarms  of  people 
otherwise  condemned  to  stuffy  tenements,  dreary  shops  and 
office  buildings.    Cities  that  have  allowed  their  streams  to  be- 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  217 

come  lined  with  unsightly  buildings  and  more  unsightly  refuse 
heaps,  are  now  transforming  their  banks  into  parks  and  boule- 
vards.   Happy,  also,  is  the  city  which  has  for  all  its  people  an 


'-t^^?^^^ 


Fountain  in  Du  Pont  Circle,  Washington,  D.C. 
One  of  the  numerous  small  parks  where  several  streets  intersect 


abundance  of  tree-arched  streets,  and  of  flower-adorned,  bird- 
haunted  parks.  American  cities  are  more  and  more  coming  into 
possession  of  these  things,  which  add  so  much  to  the  joy  of  living. 

What  department  or  bureau  of  your  city  government  is  responsible  for 
street  improvement?    Just  what  are  its  duties? 

Do  you  have  "avenues"  and  "boulevards"  in  your  city?  What  is  the 
difference  between  "streets,"  "avenues,"  and  "boulevards"?  What  is  a 
"parkway"? 

Are  the  names  of  the  streets  of  your  city  indicated  at  street  intersections  in 
an  attractive  way,  as  well  as  plainly?  Where  is  the  best  place  for  the  street 
name,  from  the  point  of  view  of  appearance  and  of  effectiveness  as  a  guide  to 
strangers? 


2l8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Are  the  streets  of  your  city  well  planned?    Are  they  well  kept? 

Describe  the  street-lighting  system  of  your  city.  What  other  methods  of 
street  lighting  are  there?  Would  you  favor  a  change  of  method  in  your  city? 
Why? 

Make  a  study  of  your  city  with  reference  to  other  factors  that  enter 
into  its  appearance,  such  as  electric  wires  and  poles,  railroad  tracks, 
bridges,  billboards,  smoke,  etc. 

Has  your  city  conserved  the  natural  beauty  of  its  surroundings?  Explain. 

Discuss  the  treatment  of  any  streams  that  may  run  through  your  city. 
How  have  they  been  (or  might  they  be)  beautified? 

Describe  the  park  system  of  your  city.  Let  different  members  of  the  class 
write  descriptions  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  several  parks  of  the  city. 

If  there  is  a  city  forester,  or  similar  officer,  in  your  city,  describe  his  work. 
Does  he  have  the  cooperation  of  all  citizens?  What  enemies  do  the  trees  of 
your  city  have?    What  can  you  do  to  help  fight  these  enemies? 

City  planning  includes,  as  we  have  seen,  the  adoption  of  a 
zoning  system  by  vi^hich  the  height  of  buildings,  the  percentage 
Parks  ®^  ^^^  space  they  may  occupy,  and  the  use  to  which 

architecture,  they  may  be  put,  are  controlled.  Parks  are  appro- 
priately located  and  developed,  and  perhaps  con- 
nected by  boulevards.  Public  buildings  are  often  grouped  in  a 
"civic  center,"  for  convenience  as  well  as  beauty,  and  their 
architectural  features  determined  by  competent  architects.  Art 
commissions  pass  judgment  on  statues,  fountains,  bridges,  and 
the  mural  decoration  of  public  buildings.  Communities  are 
beginning  to  take  pride  in  the  architectural  appearance  of  their 
school  buildings.  Collections  of  paintings,  statuary,  and  other 
works  of  art,  are  becoming  more  numerous,  often  through  the 
beneficence  of  citizens  of  wealth  who  take  pleasure  in  making 
them  available  to  the  public. 

We  must  not  overlook  the  community's  interest  in  beauty  as  it 
appeals  to  the  ear.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  the  effort  to  culti- 
vate and  to  satisfy  the  taste  for  good  music.  The  schools  give 
more  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  musical  appreciation  than 
formerly.  "Community  singing"  is  becoming  popular.  Public 
band  concerts  are  frequent  in  our  large  cities.    A  number  of  our 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  219 


Rotunda  and  Stairway 
Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


cities  take  great  pride  in  their  widely-known  musical  organiza- 
tions, such  as  orchestras  and  choral  societies.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  effort  is  made  to  suppress  unnecessary  noises,  which  tend  to 


2  20  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

increase  with  the  growth  of  cities,  and  of  which  we  are  all  too 
tolerant.  The  din  of  automobile  horns  and  of  street-car  gongs, 
Unnecessary  the  clatter  of  flat  wheels  over  poorly  laid  rails,  the 
noises  shrieking  of  sirens  in  factory  and  railroad  districts, 

the  roar  of  trains  on  elevated  structures,  the  clamor  of  news- 
boys, hucksters,  and  cabmen,  —  these  and  other  noises  that  are 
largely  preventable  and  are,  in  fact,  controlled  in  the  best  reg- 
ulated cities,  detract  from  the  pleasure  of  life,  if  they  do  not 
indeed  tend  to  shatter  the  nervous  system. 

Make  a  list  of  the  public  buildings  in  your  city.  Which  of  these  belong  to 
the  city?  to  the  county?  to  the  state?  to  the  nation? 

Are  the  public  buildings  located  in  accordance  with  any  plan?  If  so, 
describe  the  plan. 

Which  of  the  public  buildings  of  your  city  do  you  consider  the  most  beau- 
tiful?   Write  a  description  of  its  beautiful  features. 

What  bridges,  fountains,  monuments,  and  statues  of  particular  beauty 
are  there  in  your  city?    Where  are  they  located? 

Is  there  an  art  commission,  or  other  group  of  responsible  and  expert 
persons,  who  pass  judgment  on  buildings  and  works  of  art  before  they  are 
erected  in  your  city? 

Are  the  school  buildings  of  your  city  beautiful?  Are  the  newer  ones  more 
beautiful  than  the  older  ones?  Make  a  Hst  of  those  that  you  think  most 
beautiful  and  explain  why  you  select  them. 

Make  a  study  of  the  churches  of  your  city  with  respect  to  their  beauty. 

Continue  the  collection  of  photographs  of  the  beautiful  features  of  your 
city.  Also,  in  contrast,  of  features  that  are  not  beautiful.  Also,  as  far  as 
possible,  collect  photographs,  picture  post  cards,  and  illustrations  from  maga- 
zines, showing  beautiful  features  of  other  cities  to  compare  with  those  of 
your  own  city.  Consult  your  public  library  for  illustrations  of  civic  art  in 
other  cities  of  this  and  other  countries. 

Could  you  as  a  class  (not  as  individuals)  arrange  to  exchange  views  of 
your  city  with  classes  in  schools  of  other  cities  for  views  of  their  cities? 

What  can  you  say  of  the  amount  and  kinds  of  unnecessary  noise  in  youi 
city,  and  of  the  efforts  made  to  suppress  it? 

Make  a  study  of  the  "city  planning  movement"  in  the  United  States, 
especially  with  reference  to  city  beautification.  Report  on  what  has  been 
done  in  particular  cities.  (See  references  in  the  Readings  below,  and  consult 
your  Ubrarian.) 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC  AND,  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  221 

Religious  Life  and  Agencies 

In  some  countries  church  and  state  are  inseparably  bound 
together.  Before  the  recent  war  the  Russian  Czar  was  also  the 
head  of  the  Russian  church.  In  our  own  country  Government 
in  colonial  times,  no  citizen  was  permitted  to  vote  ^'^^  religion 
in  the  New  England  town  meeting  (see  page  437)  who  did  not 
belong  to  the  Puritan  church  of  the  community.  This  religious 
qualification  for  participation  in  government  was  in  the  course 
of  time  dispensed  with,  and  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  our  democracy  is  that  every  citizen  shall  have  complete 
liberty  of  religious  belief.  Our  government  exercises  no  control 
over  the  religious  life  of  the  people  other  than  to  guarantee  this 
liberty.  "Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  estab- 
lishment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof" 
(Constitution,  Amendment  I).  State  constitutions  contain 
similar  guarantees.  To  prevent  government  interference  with 
religion,  religious  institutions  are  exempt  from  taxation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  church  and  other  religious  institutions 
are  an  important  means  of  community  control.    They  do  not 
exercise    this    control    through    government,    but    Religion  a 
through  the  influence  of  their  own  beliefs  and  organ-    means  of 
ization  upon  the  conduct  of  their  members.     If 
everybody  should  live  in  accordance  with  the  Golden  Rule, 
there  would  be  no  need  for  government  as  a  means  of  repression, 
but  only  as  a  means  of  performing  service. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  things  about  the  church  has  been  the 
fact  that  more  or  less  important  differences  in  religious  belief 
have  tended  to  break  up  the  community  into  nu-  Religious  dif- 
merous  religious  groups,  or  churches.  This  may  be  obstacle  to 
necessary  in  purely  religious  matters,  but  it  has  too  team  work 
often  happened  that  the  people  have  allowed  their  religious 
differences  to  prevent  united  action  in  other  matters  of  common 
interest  to  the  entire  community.  In  some  cases  communities 
have  been  broken  up  into  rival,  or  even  hostile,  factions  because 


222 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 

The  Village  Church,  Lyme,  Conn. 
A  Painting  by  Everett  Warner 

This  is  a  typical  early  New  England  church,  where  people  not  only  worshipped, 
but  also  met  in  town  meeting. 

of  this.  There  is,  however,  a  growing  tolerance  of  one  religious 
sect  or  denomination  by  others,  which  is  in  accord  with  the 
Christian  spirit,  and  is  necessary  if  community  life  is  to  be  well 


SOCIAL,  ESTHETIC,  AND  RELIGIOUS  WANTS  223 

developed.  It  often  happens  that  there  are  more  churches  of  the 
same  denomination  in  a  community  than  it  can  support.  In  such 
cases,  at  least,  there  is  need  for  church  consolidation  similar  to 
the  consolidation  of  schools,  and  for  the  same  reason. 

The  church  may  be,  and  often  is,  an  important  agency  in  the 
community  for  the  performance  of  services  other  than  that  of 
ministering  to  the  religious  wants  of  the  people.  Social  service 
Or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  it  has  realized  more  or  °^  *^^  church 
less  fully  that  the  religious  wants  of  the  people  are  closely  bound 
up  with  their  other  wants,  and  seeks  to  minister  to  these  other 
wants  as  a  part  of  its  religious  duty.  Thus,  we  find  the  church 
growing  more  active  in  looking  after  the  health  interests,  edu- 
cational interests,  and  social  and  recreational  interests  of  its 
members  and  others. 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:   Lesson  27,  Concentration  of  social  institutions  (including  the  school 

and  the  church). 
Series  B:  Lesson  12,  Impersonality  of  modern  life. 

Lesson  20,  The  church  as  a  social  institution. 
Lesson  29,  Labor  organizations. 
Series  C:  Lesson  11,  The  efifects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 
Lesson  29,  Child  labor. 
Lesson  32,  Housing  for  workers. 
The  Playground.    A  monthly   publication  of  the  Playground  and   Recreation 

Association  of  America,  i  Madison  .A. venue,  New  York. 
Sources  of  Information  on  Play  and  Recreation,  by  Lee  F.  Hanmer  and  Howard  W. 
Knight.  Department  of  Recreation,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  (1915). 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  .xiii,  "Municipal  Recreation." 
Addams,  Jane,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Street. 
Mero,  A.  B.,  American  Playgrounds. 
Jackson,  Henry  E.,  A  Community  Center — -What  It  Is  and  How  to  Organize  It. 

U.S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  1918,  No.  11. 
The  American  City  Magazine,  154  Nassau  Street,  New  York,  contains  in  every  issue 

material  relating  to  city  planning,  civic  art,  and  recreation. 
The  Proceedings  of  the  National  Conference  on  City  Planning  are  one  of  the  best 
sources  of  information  on  the  progress  of  city  planning.  60  State  Street,  Boston. 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  xiv,  "City  Planning." 
Nolen,  John,  City  Planning  (D.  AppletoR  &  Co.). 


224  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Nolen,  John,  New  Ideals  in  the  Planning  of  Cities.  American  City  Bureau,  261 
Broadway,  New  York. 

Robinson,  C.  M.,  Improvement  of  Towns  and  Cities. 

Robinson,  C.  M.,  Modern  Civic  Art. 

Koester,  Frank,  Modern  City  Planning  and  Maintenance. 

The  American  Civic  Association,  Union  Trust  Building,  Washington,  D.C.,  pub- 
lishes pamphlets  on  civic  improvement. 

Jackson,  Henry  E.,  The  Community  Church  (Macmillan). 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  PROTECTION    OF  PROPERTY 

The  loss  from  fire  in  the  United  States,  according  to  a  report 
of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  equals  the  combined 
product  of  all  our  gold  mines,  silver  mines,  copper 
mines,  and  oil  wells.     It  is  "greater  than  the  value  in  the 
of  all  the  land  and  improvements  in  any  one  of  United 
these  states :  Maine,  West  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina,  North   Dakota,    South   Dakota,   Alabama,   Louisiana,  or 
Montana."     "It  is  almost  as  though  one  of  these  great  states 
were  fed  into  the  fire  every  year."     It  is  "  nearly  enough  to  build 
a  Panama  Canal  each  year." 

"In  19 13,  the  average  fire  loss  for  each  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  France  was  49  cents ;  in  England  it  was  t,;^  cents ;  in 
Germany,  28  cents ;  in  Austria,  25  cents ;  in  Italy,  25  cents ;  in 
Switzerland,  15  cents;  and  in  Holland,  only  11  cents.  In  the 
United  States  for  the  same  year  the  direct  loss  was  $2.10  —  and 
the  indirect  loss  was  far  higher.  .  .  .  Vienna  and  Chicago  are 
cities  of  about  the  same  size.  Vienna  had  fire  losses  for  the 
year  1913  of  $303,200;  Chicago's  were  $5,513,237,  or  more  than 
eighteen  times  as  great.  New  York  City's  fire  losses  were  about 
four  and  one-half  times  as  large  as  those  of  London."  ^ 

It  may  be  that  the  smaller  fire  losses  in  European  cities  are 
due  in  part  to  the  construction  of  fewer  inflammable  buildings, 
or  to  a  more  rigid  enforcement  of  laws  aiming  at  xhe  cost  of 
fire  prevention.     But  one  thing  is  certain,  namely,   carelessness 
that  the  appalling  loss  from  fire  in  the  United  States  is  due  largely 

^The  statements  quoted  are  taken  from  a  valuable  pamphlet,  Safeguarding  the 
Home  against  Fire,  prepared  by  the  National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters,  New 
York  City,  from  whom  it  may  be  obtained. 

22s 


226  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

to  carelessness.  If  we  examine  the  reports  of  the  fire  depart- 
ment in  any  American  city  for  a  year,  or  a  month,  and  study  the 
causes  of  fires,  we  shall  find  that  most  of  them  would  not  have 
occurred  if  some  one  had  not  been  careless  —  in  handling 
matches,  in  throwing  away  lighted  cigars  or  cigarettes,  in  allow- 
ing accumulations  of  inflammable  refuse,  in  forgetting  the  stove 
or  the  furnace,  in  handling  gasoline,  and  so  on.  It  is  said  that 
wastefulness  is  our  chief  national  sin,  but  carelessness  is  the 
twin  sister  of  wastefulness :  they  go  hand  in  hand. 

The  spirit  of  carelessness  in  the  United  States  is  really  a  greater  enemy 
than  any  foreign  invader,  and  it  is  found  in  millions  of  little  unconscious 
acts  of  carelessness.  Whenever  you,  yourself,  commit  such  an  act,  there- 
fore, you  really  range  yourself  as  an  enemy  of  your  country.^ 

If  the  loss  from  fire  fell  only  upon  those  whose  carelessness 
caused  it,  it  would  not  be  so  bad.  But,  like  the  rain,  it  falls 
upon  the  innocent  and  the  guilty  alike.  Our  interdependence 
is  in  no  way  more  clearly  shown  than  in  the  results  of  some  one's 
carelessness  in  causing  a  fire. 

The  first  and  most  important  step  for  the  protection  of 
property  from  destruction  by  fire  is  to  prevent  fires,  and  the 
Fire  responsibility   for    this    falls    very   heavily    upon 

prevention  each  citizen,  young  or  old.  But  it  is  a  matter 
requiring  concerted  action  — •  team  work.  In  many  com- 
munities there  is  an  annual  fire- prevention  day,  or  week.  This 
certainly  does  not  mean  that  fires  are  to  be  prevented  on  that  day, 
or  week,  alone ;  it  means,  rather,  that  at  least  once  a  year  the 
entire  community  concentrates  its  thought  upon  this  important 
subject,  and  engages  in  a  general,  concerted  clean-up  of  con- 
ditions that  might  invite  disaster.  But  every  day  ought  to  be  a 
fire-prevention  day.  Young  citizens  who  are  seeking  ways  in 
which  to  serve  their  community  in  a  practical  manner  might 
find  one  fruitful  opportunity  in  organizing  a  fire-prevention 
club;  or,  if  already  members  of  some  other  "good  citizenship" 

^Safeguarding  the  Home  against  Fire,  p.  ii. 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY 


227 


club,  to  make  fire  prevention  one  of  its  chief  interests.  An 
organization  of  this  sort  in  every  school  would  mean  a  fire- 
prevention  army  in  the  United  States  that  could  easily  do  as 
much  to  protect  the  community's  wealth  by  reducing  fire  loss, 
as  the  School  Garden  Army  accomplished  in  producing  food 
supplies  during  the  war.  The  prosperity  of  a  community,  like 
that  of  an  individual,  depends  as  much  upon  what  it  saves  as 


'A  Street  of  Desolation' 


"The  buildings  consumed  by  fire  in  igi4  would  line  both  sides  of  a  street  extend- 
ing from  New  York  to  Chicago.  A  person  journeying  along  this  street  of  desolation 
would  pass  in  every  thousand  feet  a  room  from  which  an  injured  person  was  taken." 


upon  what  it  produces.     Who  could  more  appropriately  initiate 
such  a  movement  than  the  civics  class  ? 

Gather  and  bring  to  class  as  many  facts  as  possible  showing  the  magnitude 
of  the  fire  loss  in  the  United  States. 

Ascertain  the  fire  loss  in  your  city  for  the  past  year. 

What  is  meant  by  "direct"  fire  loss?  What  items  would  be  included 
in  the  "indirect"  fire  loss? 

Bring  to  class  and  put  on  the  bulletin  board  clippings  from  your  daily 
papers  reporting  fires  for  a  period  of  a  week  or  month.  Tabulate  losses 
and  causes  as  far  as  reported. 

Are  annual  reports  published  in  your  city  showing  the  number  of  fires 
occurring,  their  causes,  and  losses  involved?     If  so,  by  whom  and  where? 

If  such  a  report  exists,  get  it  and  study  the  causes  of  fires  reported. 
Make  a  list  of  those  that  may  be  charged  to  carelessness.  What  percentage 
of  all  fires  fall  in  this  list? 


228  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

If  your  city  had  a  fire-prevention  day  this  year,  or  last  year,  what  did  it 
accomplish?     What  part  in  it  did  you  take?     Your  school? 

What  can  you  do  to-day  to  lessen  the  danger  from  fire  in  your  school, 
home,  neighborhood,  and  city? 

Why  not  organize  a  fire-prevention  club  in  your  school?  Discuss  the 
question  in  class.     Consider  : 

Whether  or  not  there  is  any  other  organization  in  your  school  that  might 
properly  interest  itself  in  fire  prevention  as  a  part  of  its  program ; 

What  the  program  of  such  a  club  might  be;  obligations  of-  members; 
subjects  for  discussion  at  meetings ;    activities ; 

The  possibility  of  similar  clubs  in  other  schools  of  your  city ; 

The  practicability  of  correspondence  between  your  school  and  schools  of 
other  cities  with  regard  to  the  organization  and  aims  of  such  clubs,  and  the 
development  of  a  fire-prevention  army. 

Fire  insurance  affords  an  example  of  voluntary  cooperation  for 
protection  against  loss  by  fire.  It  is  simply  a  method  of  dis- 
Loss  dis-  tributing  the  loss  from  any  particular  fire  among  a 

tributed  by  great  many  people.  Property  owners  buy  insurance 
msurance  from  insurance  companies,  paying  for  it  a  small  pre- 

mium. The  premiums  paid  by  a  large  number  of  policy  holders, 
together  with  the  profits  resulting  from  their  investment, 
produce  a  large  fund  out  of  which  the  insurance  company  pays 
the  occasional  losses  of  individual  policyholders.  Insurance 
rates  vary  with  the  character  of  the  "risk."  Insurance  com- 
panies may  refuse  to  sell  a  policy,  for  example,  on  a  house  where 
the  electric  wiring  is  not  properly  insulated,  or  on  a  store  where 
dangerous  explosives  are  kept.  At  least  the  rate  of  insurance 
will  be  higher  in  such  cases  than  in  others.  In  order  to  secure 
lower  rates  property  owners  are  likely  to  keep  their  premises 
in  as  safe  condition  as  possible,  thus  reducing  the  likelihood  of 
fire.  A  great  many  people  are  careless  about  keeping  their 
insurance  paid  up,  thus  losing  its  protection  in  case  their  prop- 
erty burns. 

Property  may  also  be  insured  against  loss  from  storm  or  flood, 
and  even  against  theft  or  burglary. 

What  is  meant  by  an  insurance  "policy"?   a  "premium"? 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY 


229 


Obtain  a  blank  insurance  policy  from  some  insurance  office  for  study  in 
class. 

Find  out  what  you  can  about  insurance  rates  in  your  city.  Are  they 
relatively  high  or  low  as  compared  with  those  of  other  cities?  How  do 
they  vary  in  different  parts  of  town,  and  for  different  kinds  of  buildings? 

What  rate  of  insurance  does  your  father  pay  on  your  home?  On  his 
place  of  business? 

Is  there  a  "salvage  corps"  in  your  city?  Under  whose  direction  is  it? 
What  does  it  do? 


All  That  is  Left  of  Home 

Individual  care  and  voluntary  cooperation,  however,  are  not 
enough  in  large  communities.  The  larger  the  community,  the 
more  elaborate  and  costly  become  the  organization  and  equip- 
ment necessary  to  fight  fire.  It  is  necessary  to  work  through 
government. 

Building  laws,  mostly  local  but  sometimes  state  laws,  regulate 
the  materials  of  which  buildings  may  be  constructed;    height 
of  buildings ;  thickness  of  walls ;  construction  of  flues ;  Building 
electric  wiring;  placing  of  fire  escapes  and  keeping  '^^^ 
them  free  of  obstructions ;  number  and  placing  of  exits ;  lighting  of 


230  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

halls;  accumulation  of  rubbish;  storing  of  inflammable  or 
explosive  materials.  Provision  is  made  for  the  inspection  of 
buildings  to  see  that  they  conform  to  the  legal  requirements. 

Building  laws  are  frequently  disobeyed  and  badly  enforced. 
It  requires  a  highly  efficient  inspection  system  to  detect  in- 
fractions of  the  many  details  of  such  laws  in  large  cities,  if 
builders  and  property  owners  themselves  do  not  cooperate 
conscientiously.  Many  such  infractions  are  due  to  ignorance 
of  the  laws,  though  this  does  not  excuse  them.  Many  people 
are  willing  to  "take  chances"  on  escaping  fires  without  careful 
observance  of  the  laws.  Builders  and  property  owners  often 
seek  to  evade  what  they  consider  unnecessary  expense  by  ignor- 
ing the  provisions  of  the  law.  In  many  cases  it  is  a  matter  of 
sheer  carelessness  or  neglect. 

Make  a  study  of  the  building  laws  of  your  ciity  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
fire  prevention. 

Are  building  laws  carefully  observed  and  enforced  in  your  city?  What 
building  laws  are  most  likely  to  be  ignored  ? 

What  existing  arrangements  of  your  school  building  are  required  by  law? 
Are  there  any  arrangements  or  conditions  in  your  school  building  that  are 
contrary  to  law? 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  "fire  drill"  in  your  school?  Is  the  fire  drill 
well  conducted?     If  not,  in  what  respects? 

Are  the  moving  picture  theaters  in  your  vicinity  safe?  What  provisions 
are  made  for  their  safety? 

One  of  the  first  essentials  for  fire  protection  is  an  adequate 
water  supply.  We  have  already  considered  the  city's  water 
supply  in  its  relation  to  health  (see  pages  174-177) 
and  noted  the  elaborate  measures  taken  by  many 
cities  to  provide  themselves  with  enough  pure  water  to  meet  all 
needs.  For  fire  protection  the  purity  of  the  water  is  of  no 
consequence,  but  abundance,  accessibility,  and  pressure  count 
for  everything. 

The  water  that  is  piped  to  every  part  of  the  city  is  made  accessible  for 
fire  purposes  by  means  of  fire  plugs,  or  hydrants,  at  frequent  intervals  in 
every  street.     If  the  reservoirs  in  which  water  is  stored  before  it  enters  the 


^f 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY 


231 


mains  in  the  streets  are  sufficiently  high  above  the  city  level,  the  natural 
fall  affords  sufficient  pressure  for  ordinary  purposes.  Or  the  water  may  be 
pumped  into  tall  standpipes,  the  fall  from  which  gives  the  necessary  pressure 
to  permit  playing  fire  streams  upon  high  buildings.  The  fire  engine  is  of 
course  a  pump  by  means  of  which  water  from  the  mains  is  forced  upon  the 
fire.  In  some  cities  a  special  system  of  "high  pressure"  mains  is  laid  in  the 
streets,  through  which  water  is  forced  at  very  high  pressure  by  means  of 
powerful  pumps  in  central  power  houses. 

The  rapid  growth  of  cities  in  recent  years  has  imposed  heavy 
demands  upon  their  water  systems.     We  have  noted  the  extraor- 
dinary  measures    taken   by   New   York  and  Los  Economy  in 
Angeles  to  provide  themselves  with  an  inexhaust-  "^e  of  water 
ible  water  supply.     Many  cities  at  the  present  time  are  alarmed 

At  40  pounds  pressure,  in  24  hours, 
...  .a  stream  running  through  this  size  of  opening  would 
mean  a  waste  of  1 70  gallons, 

....  through  this  opening  a  waste  of  970  gallons,  and 


.through  this  opening  a  waste  of  3,600  gallons. 


to  find  that  their  water  systems  are  taxed  almost  to  their  utmost 
capacity  to  meet  even  normal  needs,  and  are  taking  steps  to 
increase  that  capacity,  as  in  the  case  of  our  capital  city,  Wash- 
ington. Under  such  conditions  it  is  necessary  to  economize  in 
the  use  of  water  in  every  possible  way.  To  most  people  water 
seems  as  free  as  air;  but  it  costs  every  city  heavily,  and  every 
property  owner  has  to  pay  for  it.  Wastefulness  is  inexcusable 
at  all  times;  but  when  the  supply  is  limited,  the  danger  to 
which  it  exposes  the  city  makes  economical  use  imperative. 
Each  individual  of  us  can  help  materially  to  prevent  waste  of 
water  by  ordinary  care  with  respect  to  faucets  in  the  bathroom 
or  kitchen,  the  use  of  garden  hose,  and  in  other  ways. 


L'^    A 


232  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Is  the  water  supply  of  your  city  adequate  for  present  and  future  needs? 

What  proposals,  if  any,  are  made  to  increase  your  water  supply? 

Is  the  water  pressure  in  your  city  adequate  to  meet  all  emergencies? 
How  is  this  pressure  secured?  If  you  have  a  "high  pressure"  system  in  your 
city,  how  does  it  operate? 

Are  water  meters  used  widely  in  your  city?  How  do  they  effect  economy 
in  the  use  of  water? 

What  can  you  say  about  economy  or  wastefulness  in  the  use  of  water  in 
your  home? 

See  topics  on  water  supply  on  page  178. 

Water  is  merely  the  ammunition  without  which  the  com- 
munity's fire-fighting  army  would  be  helpless  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy.     Every  city  has  such  an  army  in  its  fire  department. 

In  the  beginning  of  community  life,  and  to-day  in  rural  districts,  each 
householder  is  the  defender  of  his  own  possessions,  whether  against  fire 
or  human  enemies.     As  communities  grow  the  need  for  organ- 
Cooperation        j^gj  cooperation  becomes  apparent.     The  first  step  is  the 
in  fire  fighting  ^  ^        ,  y  .         ,  ^,  . 

organization  of  volunteer  fire  companies,  the   members  of 

which  go  about  their  usual  business  until  an  alarm  of  fire  is  given,  when 
they  drop  whatever  they  have  in  hand  and  rush  to  meet  the  enemy.  The 
volunteer  fireman  may  be  compared  to  the  "minute-man"  of  colonial  New 
England.  When  the  community  grows  still  larger,  a  permanent,  highly- 
trained  fire-fightirg  force  becomes  necessary.' 

The  fire  departments  of  our  large  cities  afford  one  of  the 
most  perfect  examples  of  organized  team  work  for  community 
„_  .  purposes  —  organization  and  team  work  that  are 

of  fire  machine-like  in  their  perfection.     They  are  also 

departments  pj-Q^ific  of  examples  of  discipline,  resourcefulness, 
courage,  and  loyalty,  on  the  part  of  the  individual  members  who 
may  be  called  upon  at  any  moment  to  take  their  lives  in  their 
hands  for  the  security  of  others. 

The  fire  department  is  a  part  of  the  service  organization  of  the 
city  government.  It  is  administered,  as  a  rule,  by  a.  fire  com- 
missioner, or  a  board  of  fire  commissioners,  ap- 
pointed from  private  life  by  the  mayor  or  other 
governmental  authority.     Often  the  fire  department  is  joined 

'  Wilmington,  Del.,  is  probably  the  only  large  city  in  the  United  States  that 
still  depends  largely  upon  a  volunteer  organization  of  its  fire  department. 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  233 

with  the  poUce  department  in  a  department  of  public  safety 
under  a  single  board  or  commissioner.  The  actual  direction  of 
the  fire  department  is  in  the  hands  of  a, fire  chief,  who  corresponds 
to  the  commanding  general  of  an  army;  and  subordinate  to  him 
are  captains,  lieutenants,  and  other  officers  in  command  of 
various  divisions  of  the  force.  The  members  of  the  department 
are  distributed  throughout  the  city  at  various  advantageous 
stations,  each  station  being  equipped  with  elaborate  fire- 
fighting  apparatus,  and  all  being  connected  by  a  system  of 
electric  signals. 

Make  a  study  of  the  fire  department  of  your  city:  organization;  number 
of  men ;  location  of  fire  stations  or  engine  houses  (locate  on  map  of  the  city) ; 
equipment;  alarm  system;  cost  to  the  community  (compare  with  cost  of 
police  department  and  of  schools). 

If  a  fire  should  break  out  in  your  home,  school,  or  vicinity,  what  steps 
would  you  take?     Just  how  would  you  send  in  an  alarm? 

Visit  an  engine  house  and  have  its  arrangements  explained  to  you.  After- 
wards, discuss  in  class. 

Millions  of  dollars  in  property  have  been  destroyed,  thou- 
sands of  lives  lost,  and  untold  suffering  caused  by  the  periodic 
recurrence  of  floods  in  certain  sections  of  the  Loss  from 
country.  The  control  of  floods  requires  the  com-  floods 
bined  efforts  of  national  and  state  governments,  as  well  as  of 
local  communities  and  individuals.  Levees  have  been  built 
along  some  of  our  rivers  that  are  subject  to  flood,  notably  the 
lower  Mississippi,  where  the  work  has  been  done  by  the  joint 
action  of  the  states  affected,  through  their  local  levee  boards 
and  state  boards  of  engineers,  and  the  United  States  Mississippi 
River  Commission.  A  recent  law  of  Congress  appropriated 
$45,000,000  for  the  control  of  floods  by  improvements  from  the 
head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and 
$5,000,000  for  the  protection  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Great  saving  of  property  has  been  effected  by  the  United 
States   Weather    Bureau    in    the    Department   of  Agriculture. 


234  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Just  as  the  movements  of  a  ship  or  of  a  railroad  train  may  be 
reported  day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour,  by  telegraph,  so  the 
g  .  ,  appearance  and  movement  of  a  storm  center  or  of 
the  Weather  a  cold  wave  or  of  a  flood  are  reported  from  a 
Bureau  multitude  of  observing  stations.     There  are  central 

weather-forecasting  stations  at  Chicago,  New  Orleans,  Denver, 
San  Francisco,  Portland,  Ore.,  and  Washington,  D.C.  Weather 


Great  Damage  is  Caused  by  Floods 

forecasts  are  made  up  at  these  points  from  observations  tele- 
graphed in  from  observing  stations,  and  within  two  hours  are 
telegraphed  to  about  i,6oo  stations,  from  which  they  are  further 
distributed  daily  to  about  90,000  mail  addresses,  to  all  news- 
papers, and  made  available  to  5,500,000  telephone  subscribers. 
"It  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  the  San  Francisco  office  of  the 
Weather  Bureau  has  saved  to  the  citrus  fruit  growers  of  California  more 
money  within  the  last  five  years  than  the  annual  appropriation  for  the 
entire  Bureau  during  a  period  of  twenty  years."  "The  value  of  the  orange 
bloom,  vegetables,  and  strawberries  protected  and  saved  on  a  single  night 
in  a  limited  district  in  Florida  .  .  .  was  reported  at  over  $100,000."  "The 
warnings  issued  for  a  single  cold  wave  .  .  .  resulted  in  saving  over  $3,500,- 
000  through  the  protection  of  property."  "Signals  displayed  for  a  single 
hurricane  are  known  to  have  detained  in  port  on  our  Atlantic  coast  vessels 
valued  with  their  cargoes  at  over  $30,000,000." 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  235 

Flood  warnings  are  sent  in  from  about  60  centers  along  our 
rivers,  enabling  farmers  to  remove  their  cattle  from  bottom 
lands  and  to  save  their  crops,  and  saving  large  sums  to  railroads 
and  to  business  men  and  home  owners  in  cities. 

Report  on  disastrous  floods  in  your  state. 

What  measures  have  been  taken  in  your  state  to  prevent  loss  from  floods? 
If  you  live  in  a  river  town,  study  especially  the  provisions  there  made  for 
flood  protection. 

Investigate  more  fully  how  the  Weather  Bureau  forecasts  the  weather. 

Learn  how  to  read  the  weather  map.  Explain  to  class.  (Bring  copy  of 
weather  map  to  class.) 

How  are  business  men  in  your  city  benefited  by  the  Weather  Bureau  ? 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  in 
preventing  loss  of  crops  and  live  stock.  How  is  this  work  of  value  to  the 
business  of  your  city? 

All  states  have  laws  to  protect  their  citizens  against  the  "ill- 
mannered"  (see  page  48)  who  do  not  respect  property  rights  — 
thieves,  burglars,  highwaymen,  vandals,  sharpers,  xhe  police 
and  others.  The  enforcement  of  these  laws  is  left  department 
largely,  though  not  altogether,  in  the  hands  of  local  community 
agencies.  Townships  have  their  constables,  counties  their 
sheriffs  and  deputy  sheriffs,  and  cities  their  police.  New  York 
City  had  reached  a  population  of  300,000  before  it  abandoned 
the  plan  of  police  protection  at  night  by  volunteers  who  pursued 
other  occupations  during  the  day.  To-day  it  has  a  police  force 
of  more  than  10,000  men,  organized  like  an  army.  At  the 
head  of  the  police  ■  force  in  most  cities  is  a  police  commissioner, 
or  chief  of  police,  usually  appointed  by,  and  responsible  to,  the 
mayor  or  other  head  of  the  city  government.  In  a  few  cities  he 
is  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  state.  Every  large  city  is 
divided  into  precincts,  each  with  its  police  station  in  charge  of  a 
captain,  who  directs  all  police  operations  in  his  precinct. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  police  department  to  maintain  order.  It 
regulates  traffic ;  keeps  order  where  crowds  gather ;  aids  the 
fire  department  at  fires  and  the  health  department  in  enforcing 


236 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


its  regulations ;  controls  vice;  restores  lost  property  to  its  owners 
and  lost  cb'idren  to  their  homes;  renders  aid  in  case  of  accident 
Service  of  and  calamity.  Uniformed  men  patrol  the  streets 
the  police  (j^y  and  night,  and  "plain  clothes"  men  quietly 

go  about  with  eyes  open  for  suspicious  characters.  There 
are  policemen  on  foot,  policemen  on  horseback,  policemen 
on  bicycles  and  motorcycles  and  in  motor  cars,  and,  where  there 
is  a  water  front,  policemen  in  boats. 


SiATi;  I'oi.ici:  (IF  Pennsylvania 


The  police  of  American  cities  are,  as  a  rule,  courageous  men, 
loyal  to  the  interests  of  the  community.  Generally  speaking, 
f,         ..  however,   police   departments   have  not   been  as 

in  police  highly  efficient  as  fire  departments.  They  have  been 

departments  j^Qj-g  frequently  subject  to  corrupt  influences.  The 
reasons  for  this  we  shall  consider  in  a  later  chapter. 

It  has  been  noted  above  that  in  some  cases  more  or  less 
control  is  exercised  over  the  city  police  department  by  the 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  237 

state  government,  as  in  the  appointment  and  removal  of 
police  commissioners  by  the  governor  of  the  state.  In  a  few 
instances  there  is  an  organized  state  police.  Texas  state  control 
has  her  "rangers"  who  protect  her  borders  against  °^  police 
raids.  In  Pennsylvania  there  is  a  well-organized  state  police, 
or  "constabulary,"  which  has  many  times  proved  its  efficiency 
in  bringing  criminals  to  justice,  in  quelling  riots  in  mining 
centers,  and  especially  in  affording  protection  to  remote  rural 
communities. 

The  proper  lighting  of  the  public  streets  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  protection  of  property  as  well  as  in  street 
personal  safety.  lighting 

Make  a  detailed  study  of  the  organization  of  the  police  department  of  your 
city  (see  the  provisions  of  your  city  charter  and  the  reports  of  the  depart- 
ment published  by  the  city) .     Investigate  such  points  as  the  following  : 

Is  the  head  of  the  department  an  individual,  or  a  group  of  individuals? 
How  is  the  head  appointed?     To  whom  is  it  directly  responsible? 

The  number  and  location  of  police  stations  (locate  on  a  map  of  the  city). 
In  what  precinct  is  your  school?     Your  home? 

The  different  branches  of  police  service  and  their  uses  (patrolmen,  bicycle- 
men,  etc.). 

From  whom  does  the  patrolman  whose  "beat"  includes  your  school  take 
orders?     How  does  he  communicate  with  his  superior  officer  while  on  duty? 

Police  service  as  a  vocation  :  qualifications  for;  how  appointment  as  a 
policeman  is  secured;  compensation;  opportunities  for  advancement;  the 
daily  routine  of  a  policeman;  etc. 

Is  the  method  of  appointing  policemen  in  your  city  a  good  one?  Ex- 
plain your  answer. 

Extent  of  state  control  over  your  city  police  department. 

Investigate  and  report  on 

The  state  police  of  Pennsylvania ; 

The  Texas  Rangers ; 

The  mounted  police  of  Canada. 

Describe  the  street  lighting  system  of  your  city. 

Report  on  the  history  of  street  lighting  in  your  city. 

Look  up  the  story  of  Benjamin  Franklin's  invention  of  a  street  lamp. 


238  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

A  great  deal  of  property  is  destroyed  or  injured  by  vandals. 
The  original  Vandals  were  a  tribe  of  Germanic  peoples  who 
invaded  southern  and  western  Europe  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  who  were  noted  for  their  destructiveness 
of  the  beautiful  buildings  and  other  evidences  of  Roman  civil- 
ization.    There  seem  to  be  "vandals"  in  almost  every  com- 
munity.    Sometimes  vandalism  is  wanton,  —  that  is,  it  results 
from  an  apparent  love  of  being  destructive.     Most  often  it  is 
purely  thoughtless.     Few  people  would  knowingly  injure  the 
property  of  another  if  they  would  stop  to  think  of  their  feelings 
if  another  should  injure  their  property.     It  is  a  case  of  "bad 
manners."     Moreover,   it  is   not   a   "square   deal"   to   injure 
another's  property  while  expecting  one's  own  property  to  be 
secure.     When  vandalism  occurs  in  a  community  it  creates  a 
general  feeling  of  insecurity  and  destroys  the  sense  of  freedom. 
Public  properly  is  often  more  likely  to  suffer  from  vandalism 
than  private  property.     Some  people  will  mar  the  walls    of 
public  buildings,  or  make  their  floors  filthy  with  expectoration 
when  they  would  not  think  of  doing  so  in  private  buildings. 
They  will  break  shrubbery  in  public  parks,  or  despoil  public 
flower  beds,  when  they  would  not  think  of  entering  private 
premises  for  such  purposes.     There  seems  to  be  a  feeling  that 
public  property  belongs  to  no  one,  or  else  that,  since  it  is  public, 
any  one  is  at  liberty  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  it.     This,  of  course, 
is  foolish.     It  is  as  if  a  stockholder  in  a  business  corporation 
should  injure  or  destroy  the  corporation  property,  forgetting 
that  he  owned  a  share  in  it  and  suffered  a  share  of  the  loss. 

Is  vandalism  common  in  your  community?  Wliat  are  some  of  its  most 
common  forms?     Are  there  evidences  of  it  in  your  school? 

Inspect  the  courthouse,  post  office,  and  other  public  buildings  and  report 
evidences  of  vandalism. 

Is  vandalism  justifiable  on  Hallowe'en?     Discuss. 

Every  state  in  the  Union  has  its  National  Guard,  or  organized 
militia,  for  the  defense  of  the  state.     It  is  frequently  called 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  239 

out  by  the  governor,  who  is  its  commander  in  chief,  to  quell 
riots,  or  to  protect  property  in  times  of  disturbance  when 
the  local  police  are  unable  to  handle  the  situation.  The  National 
It  is  also  frequently  used  in  times  of  public  disaster,  Guard 
as  in  the  case  of  floods,  to  protect  property  and  to  aid  in 
various  ways  in  restoring  order. 

Prior  to  1916,  the  state  militia  constituted  a  second  line  of 
defense  in  our  national  army,  the  Regular  Army  of  the  United 
States  being  the  first  line.     In  time  of  war,  the   ^^^  j^ 
President  of  the  United  States  could  call  upon  the  National 
governors  of  the  states  for  the  use  of  the  militia,    ^™^ 
the  members  reenlisting  as  individuals  for  national  service.     In 
19 1 6,  when  the  militia  was  needed  for  service  on  the  Mexican 
border.  Congress  passed  a  National  Defense  Act,  which  made  the 
National  Guard  of  the  several  states  a  part  of  the  first  line  of 
defense  and  subject  to  call  for  national  service  exactly  hke  the 
forces  of  the  Regular  Army. 

Our  nation  has  never  believed  in  a  large  standing  army. 
Before  the  war  with  Germany  the  Regular  Army  consisted  of 
less  than  100,000  men.  But  when  war  was  declared  the  Regular 
Army  and  the  National  Guard  were  increased  in  size  by  enlist- 
ment, and  the  selective  draft  put  into  operation  (see  page  89), 
with  the  result  that  within  a  short  time  we  had  a  great  National 
Army  of  approximately  5,000,000  men.  Since  the  war  we  have 
gone  back  to  a  peace-time  basis  with  a  standing  army  (the 
Regular  Army)  of  not  more  than  175,000  men.^  A  large  army  is 
a  great  burden  of  expense.  Many,  also,  believe  it  to  be  a  menace 
to  the  liberties  of  the  people  and  to  our  peace  with  the  world. 

We  have  never  had  the  same  fear  of  a  large  navy  that  we  have 

had  of  a  large  army.     Our  navy  has  grown  gradually  and  its 

growth  was  given  a  tremendous  impetus  by  the 

TTr     ,  ,  TTT  1  •     •  -^   ,   .      The  Navy 

World  War,  so  that  at  present  it  is  surpassed  in 

strength  only  by  that  of  Great  Britain.     It  is  the  defender  of 

1  As  these  lines  are  written  Congress  is  debating  wtiether  to  authorize  an  army  of  175,000 
men,  which  is  the  number  desired  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  a  smaller  force. 


Will  H.  Low 

West  Point  Military  Academy 

From  a  mural  painting  by  Will  H.  Low  in  the  State 

Education  Building,  Albany,  N.Y. 

240 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  PROPERTY  241 

our  commerce  on  the  seas,  and,  in  view  of  our  isolated  position 
with  reference  to  other  great  powers,  it  is  our  first  defender  in 
case  of  attack  from  abroad.  But  navies,  even  more  than  armies, 
are  an  enormous  burden  of  expense  to  a  nation.  When  one 
nation  increases  its  naval  power,  other  nations  feel  bound  to  do 
the  same,   until   the  burden  has  become  almost   unbearable. 


A  Unit  in  Our  "First  Line  of  Defense" 
v. S.S.  Oklahoma.   One  of  our  most  modern  "  super-dreadnaughts" 

Since  the  World  War  there  has  been  renewed  discussion  of  the 
possibility  of  an  agreement  among  the  great  powers  gradually  to 
reduce  their  naval  armaments. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  organization  and  strength  of  the  National 
Guard  of  your  state. 

What  are  the  qualifications  for  enlistment  in  the  state  militia?  In  the 
Regular  Army? 

Prepare  ten-minute  papers,  or  speeches,  on  the  following  topics :  "Team 
Work  in  the  Army;"  "Team  Work  in  the  Navy;"  "Team  Work  between 
the  Army  and  the  Navy  in  War."  (Different  members  of  the  class  choose 
different  topics.) 

What  are  the  arguments  for  and  against  disarmament? 

The  Navy  is  often  spoken  of  as  our  "first  line  of  defense."  What  does 
this  mean? 


242  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

READINGS 

Reports  of  the  city  fire  and  police  departments. 

Safeguarding  the  Home  Against  Fire.    National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters,  New 

York  City. 
Wilcox,  D.  F.,  The  American  City,  chap,  vi,  Municipal  Insurance  (fire  and  police 

protection).    (Macmillan.) 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government  (The  Century  Co.),  pp.  282-286; 

158-189.    (Fire  and  police  protection.) 
Bruere,  Henry,  The  New  City  Government,  pp.  263-313. 
Munro,  W.  B.,  The  Principles  and  Methods  of  Municipal  Administration,  chap,  vii 

(police),  and  pp.  122-166  (water  supply). 
McAdoo,  William  G.,  Guarding  a  Great  City. 
Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap.  xvi.   (Protection  of  crops 

and  livestock.) 
The  American  City  (magazine)  contains  much  valuable  material.    154  Nassau  St., 

New  York  City. 
Federal  Executive  Departments  as  Sources  of  Information,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education 

Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74. 
Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance,  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  No.  530 
The  Weather  Bureau  (a  pamphlet),  Government  Printing  Office. 
Flood  Control,  Water  Supply  Paper  234,  U.S.  Geological  Survey. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
COMMUNICATION 

Team  work  is  impossible  without  prompt  and  effective  means 
of  communication. 

Tell  what  you  know  about  the  value  of  signals  in  getting  team  work  in  a 
football  or  baseball  team. 

Discuss  the  importance  of  means  of  communication  in  conducting  military 
operations.    What  means  were  used  for  this  purpose  in  our  army  in  France? 

How  were  military  movements  reported  and  directed  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War? 

Andrew  Jackson's  victory  at  New  Orleans  was  won  a  month  after  the 
War  of  1812  was  officially  ended.    How  did  this  happen? 

What  were  some  of  the  methods  used  by  the  American  Indians  to  convey 
information  between  distant  points? 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  history  is  that  relating 
to  the  development  of  means  of  communication.  Language 
itself  is  the  most  important  of  these  means.  It  is  Language 
not  altogether  clear  what  the  first  steps  were  in  ^^ 
the  development  of  spoken  language;  but  we  cation 
know  that  among  uncivilized  peoples  conversation  is  aided,  and 
often  largely  carried  on,  by  signs  rnade  with  the  hands.  Written 
language  certainly  developed  from  the  use  of  pictures,  which  were 
gradually  curtailed  into  hieroglyphics,  such  as  were  used  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  and  finally  developed  into  the  alphabet,  each 
letter  of  which  was  originally  a  picture. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  group  of  American  Indians  who  some  years  ago  visited 
an  eastern  city.  They  could  not  make  themselves  understood,  nor  could 
they  understand  others,  and  became  very  lonely.  They  were  taken  to 
visit  a  deaf-and-dumb  institution,  where  they  were  quite  delighted  to  find 
that  they  could  converse  freely  by  the  use  of  a  natural  sign  language. 

243 


as  a  means 
communi- 


244 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Uncivilized  peoples  are  in  the  habit  of  conveying  ideas  in  the  most 
astonishing  ways.  For  example,  among  a  certain  African  tribe  the  gift  of 
a  tooth  brush  carries  a  message  of  affection.  These  Africans  take  great 
pride  in  their  white  teeth,  and  the  tooth  brush  carries  the  message,  "As  I 
think  of  my  teeth  morning,  noon,  and  night,  so  I  think  often  of  you." 

To  illustrate  the  development  of  the  alphabet  from  pictures,  our  letter 
m  represents  the  ears  of  an  owl,  which  in  Egj^t  was  called  tmi,  and  the  pic- 
ture of  which,  later  reduced  to  the  ears,  came  to  represent  the  sound  of  m. 


Communication  on  the  Battle  Front 


The  fascinating  story  of  the  development  of  language  cannot 
be  told  here.  It  is  referred  to  because  we  are  likely  to  forget 
what  an  important  factor  it  is  in  making  com- 
munity life  possible.  Inability  to  use  a  common 
language  prevents  intercourse  and  team  work. 
Large  numbers  of  men  drafted  in  the  American 
army  were  unable  to  understand  the  English  language.  Between 
30,000  and  40,000  illiterates  were  taken  in  the  first  draft,  and  it 
is  said  that  there  were  nearly  700,000  men  of  draft  age  in  the 
United  States  who  could  neither  read  nor  write.  They  could  not 
sign  their  names,  nor  read  orders  or  instructions.    They  had  to  be 


Effects  of 
illiteracy 
and  inability 
to  use 
English 


COMMUNICATION  245 

separated  and  taught,  thus  greatly  delaying  the  complete  organ- 
ization of  our  available  fighting  forces.  Inability  to  use  a 
common  language  is  equally  an  obstacle  in  industrial  life,  for 
non-English  speaking  workmen  are  unable  to  understand  instruc- 
tions or  to  read  signs  and  warnings.  Many  accidents  are  due  to 
this  cause.  It  is  said  that  approximately  ^)4  million  of  our 
population  above  ten  years  of  age  cannot  read  or  write  in  any 
language,  and  that  5  million  of  our  foreign  population  cannot 
use  English.  An  active  campaign  is  now  being  conducted  to 
teach  English  to  foreigners  and  to  eradicate  illiteracy.  Bills 
have  recently  been  introduced  in  Congress  to  provide  federal 
aid  for  this  purpose. 

If  the  productive  labor  value  of  an  illiterate  is  less  by  only  50  cents  a 
day  than  that  of  an  educated  man  or  woman,  the  country  is  losing  $825,000,- 
000  a  year  through  iUiteracy.  .  .  .  The  Federal  Government  and  the  States 
spend  miUions  of  dollars  in  trying  to  give  information  to  the  people  in  rural 
districts  about  farming  and  home  making.  Yet  3,700,000,  or  10  per  cent, 
of  our  country  folk  cannot  read  or  write  a  word.  They  cannot  read  a 
bulletin  on  agriculture,  a  farm  paper,  a  food-pledge  card,  a  hberty-loan 
appeal,  a  newspaper,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  their  Bibles, 
nor  can  they  keep  personal  or  business  accounts.  An  uninformed  democ- 
racy is  not  a  democracy.  A  people  who  cannot  have  means  of  access  to 
the  mediums  of  public  opinion  and  to  the  messages  of  the  President  and  the 
acts  of  Congress  can  hardly  be  expected  to  understand  the  full  meaning 
of  this  war,  to  which  they  all  must  contribute  in  hfe  or  property  or  labor.  — 
Secretary  Lane,  Annual  Report,  1918,  p.  30.    From  letter  to  the  President. 

What  is  illiteracy?  What  is  the  difference  between  an  illiterate  and  a  non- 
English  speaking  person? 

Debate  (or  discuss) : 

Resolved,  That  all  persons  of  sound  mind  in  the  United  States  should  be 
required  by  law  to  attend  school  until  they  are  able  to  speak,  read,  and  write 
English  fluently. 

Resolved,  That  the  elimination  of  illiteracy  and  the  teaching  of  English  to 
foreigners  should  be  left  wholly  to  the  states  without  interference  or  aid  from 
the  national  government. 

What  can  you  find  out  about  the  number  of  illiterates  in  your  city?  In 
your  state? 


246 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


What  is  being  done  in  your  city  and  state  to  eliminate  illiteracy?  To 
teach  EngUsh  to  foreigners? 

Why  are  foreigners  required  to  read  sections  from  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  before  receiving  their  naturalization  papers? 

What  does  "knowing  how  to  read"  mean? 

Debate:  Resolved,  That  no  native-born  American  should  be  permitted  to 
vote  who  cannot  read  intelligently. 


Arrival  of  the  Mail,  Tanana,  Alaska 

Next  to  language  itself,  the  most  important  invention  for  the 
communication  of  ideas  is  the  art  of  printing.  It  made  possible 
The  printing  ^^^  book,  the  magazine,  the  newspaper.  The 
press  and  writer  of  this  book  is  enabled  to  communicate 
newspapers  ^j^^  boys  and  girls  whom  he  will  never  see,  by 
means  of  the  printed  page  and  the  pictures  which  the  book 
contains.  By  the  same  means  the  ideas  of  people  who  lived  long 
ago  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  the  ideas  of  to-day  will 
be  passed  on  to  later  generations.  Most  wonderful  is  the  modern 
newspaper,  which  daily  carries  into  almost  every  home  of  the 
land  the  important  happenings  in  the  world  during  the  preceding 
twenty-four  hours.  City  newspapers  may  issue  several  editions 
during  the  day.    The  newspaper  enables  the  merchant  to  com- 


COMMUNICATION  247 

municate,  through  advertisements,  with  possible  buyers,  and 
the  business  man  to  keep  posted  regarding  trade  conditions  and 
market  prices.  Most  newspapers  have  special  departments  for 
different  classes  of  readers  —  a  woman's  page,  a  children's 
column,  a  page  devoted  to  sports,  perhaps  another  to  educa- 
tional matters.  Most  of  them  also  have  a  department  in  which 
individuals  may  ask  questions  or  express  their  own  opinions 


United  States  Mail  en  Route,  Alaska 

regarding  questions  of  the  day.  The  "local  newspaper"  in  the 
small  town,  with  a  circulation  that  seldom  extends  far  beyond 
the  county  in  which  it  is  published,  is  of  the  greatest  value  in 
stimulating  a  community  spirit. 

The  first  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
provides  that:  The  right  of 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  .  .  .  abridging  the  freedom  of    ^^^^  speech 
speech  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble.  .  .  . 

The  right  of  free  speech  and  of  a  free  press  is  a  very  sacred 
one,  and  its  maintenance  is  one  of  the  chief  safeguards  of  democ- 
racy. It  is  the  means  by  which  public  opinion  is  formed  and 
made  known;  and  public  opinion  is  one  of  the  chief  means  of 
control  in  a  democracy.    It  controls  the  conduct  of  individuals, 


248  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

and  it  controls  the  actions  of  government.  The  representatives 
and  leaders  of  the  people  in  the  government  seek  constantly  to 
know  what  public  opinion  is,  and  the  public  press  is  one  of  the 
chief  channels  through  which  they  may  find  out.  On  the 
other  hand,  leaders  and  parties  seek  to  form  public  opinion,  to 
lead  the  people  to  think  in  certain  ways  and  to  support  certain 
ideas.     The  press  affords  an  effective  means  for  doing  this. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  both  good  leaders  and  bad  leaders  may 
thus  create  public  opinion,  that  both  good  and  bad  ideas  may 
be  spread  through  the  press.  During  the  war 
we  heard  much  about  German  propaganda.  This 
means  that  ideas  were  systematically  spread  to  create  a  public 
opinion  favorable  to  the  German  cause.  It  was  done  largely  by 
rumors,  springing  from  no  one  knows  where,  and  spreading 
by  word  of  mouth.  But  it  was  also  accomplished  through  the 
newspapers,  by  news  items  and  stories  that  appeared  to  be  true 
and  that  were  published  innocently  enough  in  most  cases,  but 
that  afterward  were  found  to  be  false. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  propaganda  is  harmful  or 
dangerous.  There  is  propaganda  in  good  causes,  or  on  both 
The  develop-  sides  of  a  disputed  question.  By  this  means  public 
ment  of  opinion  is  educated.    When  the  peace  conference  at 

pu  c  opinion  p^j.jg  proposed  a  plan  for  a  League  of  Nations,  it 
was  at  once  taken  up  for  discussion  through  the  newspapers  and 
magazines.  People  who  believed  in  the  idea  organized  a  cam- 
paign of  publicity  to  support  the  plan  and  to  create  a  pubhc 
opinion  for  it,  while  those  opposed  to  it  were  equally  active 
in  their  attempt  to  create  a  public  opinion  against  it.  In  this 
way  the  people  became  informed  regarding  the  question,  pro- 
vided they  read  both  sides  of  the  discussion  and  not  one  only. 
Leaders  in  the  community  may  conduct  propaganda  through 
the  newspapers  in  behalf  of  better  schools,  better  streets,  public 
playgrounds,  prohibition,  or  any  other  cause. 

The  good  citizen  cannot  well  get  along  without  the  newspaper 


COMMUNICATION  249 

and  magazine.  But  he  needs  to  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  news 
items  may  be  in  error,  and  that  the  opinions  expressed  by  editors 
and  other  writers  usually  represent  the  opinions  of  but  a  single 
group  of  people,  which  may  be  large  or  small,  right  or  wrong. 
In  most  cases  these  writers  are  sincere,  but  there  is  always  the 
chance  for  error.  The  intelligent  citizen  will  not  base  his  own 
opinions  and  actions  solely  on  what  he  reads  in  one  paper  or 
magazine  or  book,  but  will  seek  to  understand  all  sides  of  a 
question.  He  is  helped  to  do  this  by  the  great  variety  of  publica- 
tions available  representing  every  shade  of  belief,  and  by  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  under  our  system  of  govern- 
ment. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  does  not  mean  that  a 
citizen  may  always  say  anything  he  pleases  in  public.  At  no 
time  has  one  the  right  to  attack  the  character  of  The  control  of 
another  by,  false  or  malicious  statements.  This  a'^d  a^***^^ 
constitutes  slander,  or  libel,  and  may  be  punished  free  press 
by  the  courts.  In  time  of  war  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press 
may  be  restricted  to  an  extent  that  would  not  be  tolerated  in 
time  of  peace,  because  if  absolute  freedom  were  permitted, 
information  might  be  made  public  that  would  be  helpful  to  the 
enemy,  and  propaganda  started  that  would  be  dangerous  to  the 
public  safety.  But,  even  in  war  time,  the  people  of  a  democracy 
chafe  under  restrictions  upon  free  speech  and  a  free  press,  and  it 
is  often  a  delicate  question  to  determine  how  far  such  restriction 
is  justifiable  or  wise. 

Make  a  report  on  the  invention  of  the  printing  press. 

Make  a  list  of  the  newspapers  published  in  your  city.  Indicate  the 
"politics"  of  each  of  them.  Do  these  papers  aU  take  the  same  position  in 
regard  to  public  questions  of  national  interest?  In  regard  to  public  questions 
of  purely  local  interest?  Bring  in  illustrations  of  differences  on  such  ques- 
tions. How  can  you  tell  which  of  two  papers  is  right  when  they  differ  on  an 
important  question? 

Find  out  from  your  father  what  newspapers  he  reads  regularly.  Tabulate 
the  result  for  the  entire  class. 


2  50 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Which  is  the  most  influential  newspaper  in  your  city?  In  your  state? 
Why  are  these  papers  so  influential?  (Consult  at  home  with  regard  to  these 
questions,  and  report  in  class.) 

Do  you  read  a  newspaper  regularly?    Do  you  read  more  than  one? 

Examine  carefully  the  newspapers  you  take  at  home  and  make  a  list  of 
the  different  "departments"  (such  as  "sports,"  "society  news,"  "local 
news,"  etc.). 


Transportation  and  Communication 
Terminal  Railway  Station  (right)  and  City  Post  Office  (left),  Washington,  D.C. 

What  part  of  the  paper  do  you  turn  to  first  when  you  read  it?  Ask  your 
father  and  mother  and  other  members  of  your  family  this  question.  Why 
the  difference,  if  any? 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  news  story  and  an  editorial? 

What  is  the  value  of  cartoons  in  a  newspaper?  Do  you  study  them?  Do 
they  convey  a  story  to  you?  Make  a  collection  of  cartoons  that  you  think 
are  particularly  good  and  explain  what  each  means. 

Is  any  propaganda  being  conducted  now  in  the  newspapers  you  read? 
If  so,  explain  what  it  is. 

To  what  extent  are  newspaper  and  magazine  advertisements  useful  in 
your  own  home? 

Arrange  for  a  visit  to  a  newspaper  ofhce.  Afterwards  make  a  report  on 
"the  making  of  a  newspaper." 

What  qualities  must  a  good  newspaper  reporter  possess?  A  good  news- 
paper editor?    Why,  in  each  case? 


COMMUNICATION  2  5 1 

As  a  class,  get  up  a  newspaper.  (Coordinate  this  with  English  work.)  Let 
various  members  of  the  class  be  reporters.  Elect  one  or  more  editors.  Gather 
first-hand  news,  and  also  items  of  interest  from  the  daily  newspapers.  Have  a 
department  of  national  and  world  news,  one  of  local  news,  and  other  depart- 
ments as  desired.  Look  especially  for  items  relating  to  subjects  studied  in 
your  civics  class. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  ^.ssociated  Press,  or  similar  news  agency. 

Congress  was  given  power  by  the  Constitution  "to  establish 
post  offices  and  post  roads."  There  had  been  a  postal  service 
in  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution.  During  the  p^^^  offices 
Revolution  Benjamin  Franklin  was  made  Post-  and  post 
master  General,  and  he  made  the  service  as  effective  ^°^  ^ 
as  it  could  well  be  made  under  the  conditions  that  existed  in 
those  times.  The  plan  that  he  devised  was  continued  after 
the  Constitution  was  adopted.  In  .those  days  mails  were  sent 
from  New  York  to  Boston  and  to  Philadelphia  two  or  three  times 
a  week.  They  were  carried  on  horseback  or  by  stage  and  by 
boat.  Sometimes  a  month  was  consumed  by  a  trip  that  can 
now  be  made  in  a  half-day.  Postage  cost  from  six  cents  to 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  letter,  according  to  the  distance  it 
was  carried,  and  had  to  be  paid  in  cash  in  advance.  Postage 
stamps  were  not  introduced  until  1847.  Often  mail  was  allowed 
to  accumulate  until  there  was  enough  to  pay  for  the  trip.  The 
isolation  of  a  remote  rural  community  can  well  be  imagined 
where  the  difficulties  of  communication  were  so  great,  and 
where  the  scarcity  of  money  made  postage  an  important  item. 

In  1 91 8  there  were  54,345  post  offices  in  the  United  States 
managed  by  the  Post  Office  Department  at  Washington, 
besides  nearly  600  in  the  Philippines  managed  by  Rural  mail 
the  War  Department,  and  a  few  in  the  Panama  ^°"t^s 
Canal  Zone.  Of  the  3,030  counties  in  the  United  States,  3_,oo8 
had  rural  mail  routes  aggregating  more  than  a  million  miles  in 
extent,  serving  more  than  6  million  families,  and  costing  for 
operation  more  than  53  million  dollars.     This  cost,  however, 


252 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


amounts  to  only  about  $1.90  for  each  person  served,  or  a  little 
more  than  one  cent  for  each  piece  of  mail  handled.  The  aim  is 
to  make  the  postal  service  pay  for  itself,  and  in  1918  the  receipts 
exceeded  the  expenditures  by  more  than  60  million  dollars. 

The  Post  Office  De- 
partment not  only 

Special  serv-    provides 
ices  of  the         r  ,i 

Post  Office  for  the 
Department  transpor- 
tation of  ordinary 
mail,  but  through  its 
post  offices  it  sells 
money  orders  for  the 
transmission  of  money 
safely  through  the 
mails;  it  operates  the 
parcel  post;  it  admin- 
isters the  postal  sav- 
ings system  (see  p. 
317).  One  of  the  in- 
teresting divisions  of 
the  Post  Ofl&ce  De- 
partment is  the  Divi- 
sion of  Dead  Letters, 
to  which  is  returned  all  mail  that  fails  to  reach  its  destination. 
In  1918  there  were  returned  to  the  Dead  Letter  Division 
14,451,953  pieces  of  mail.  In  these  "dead  letters"  there  were 
drafts,  checks,  money  orders,  and  loose  money,  amounting  to 
$4,194,839.68.  The  failure  of  this  mail  to  reach  its  proper 
destination  is  due  in  very  large  measure  to  carelessness  in 
addressing  and  to  failure  to  place  on  the  envelope  or  package 
a  return  address.  A  great  deal  of  loss  and  inconvenience 
could  be  avoided,  and  much  labor  and  expense  saved  for  the 
postal  service,  if  every  one  would  see  that  every  piece  of  mail 


Courtesy  American  Mai^azinc  oj  Art 

The  Mail  Train 
A  painting  by  F.  D.  Miller 


COMMUNICATION  253 

sent  out  is  properly  addressed  and  stamped,  and  has  a  return 
address  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner. 

The  efficiency  of  the  postal  service  depends  very  largely  upon 
the  means  of  transportation,  from  steamship  and  railway  lines 
down  to  the  country  roads.  Nothing  else,  perhaps,  xransporta- 
has  stimulated  the  improvement  of  roads  so  much  tion  of  the 
as  the  rural  mail  service.  It  is  the  power  granted  ™**  ^ 
by  the  Constitution  to  Congress  to  establish  post  roads  that 
enables  the  federal  government  to  aid  the  states  in  road  improve- 
ment (see  p.  272).  The  development  of  fast  mail  trains  and  the 
introduction  of  motor-truck  service  have  been  important  steps 
in  the  improvement  of  the  postal  service  in  city  and  country. 
The  latest  development  is  the  transportation  of  mail  by  air- 
plane. An  aerial  mail  route  between  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
New  York  City  was  established  May  15,  191 8,  over  which  a 
round  trip  is  made  daily,  regardless  of  weather  conditions.  The 
flying  time  from  Washington  to  New  York,  with  a  stop  at 
Philadelphia,  averages  two  hours  and  thirty  minutes,  or  one  half 
the  time  of  the  fastest  trains.  Other  cities  are  connected  by 
aerial  mail  routes,  and  the  Post  Office  Department  is  planning 
an  extensive  airplane  mail  service  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
with  various  side  lines;  also  to  the  West  Indies,  Panama,  and 
South  America. 

If  it  can  be  arranged  for  with  your  local  post  office  authorities,  make  an 
excursion  through  your  local  main  post  office,  tracing  carefully  all  the  opera- 
tions necessary  to  handle  the  mail  of  your  city.    Write  up  a  careful  report. 

How  is  the  postmaster  in  your  city  chosen?  Are  all  postmasters  in  the 
country  chosen  in  the  same  way? 

What  are  first-class,  second-class,  third-class,  and  fourth-class  post  offices? 

What  constitute  first-class,  second-class,  third-class,  and  fourth-class  mail? 
What  is  the  rate  of  postage  on  each? 

Who  is  the  Postmaster  General  of  the  United  States  at  the  present  time? 

What  can  you  find  out  about  the  International  Postal  Union? 

Has  rural  mail  delivery  led  to  road  improvement  in  your  state?  If  so, 
give  instances. 


254 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


We  need  only  mention  the  important  part  played  by  the 

telegraph,   the  submarine  cable,  and  radio-commimicatkn,  in 

The  telegraph  binding  together  our  nation  and  the  world  as  a 

whole.      Without    them    the   modern   newspaper, 

with  its  daily  news  from  every  corner  of  the  globe,  would  be 


United  States  Postal  Service  Airplane 
The  pilot  has  his  route  map  fastened  to  his  knee  for  ready  reference. 


impossible,  and  our  cooperation  in  the  great  World  War  would 
have  been  extremely  difficult.  Although  the  first  telegraph  line 
in  the  United  States  was  owned  and  operated  by  the  government 
as  a  part  of  the  postal  service,  the  telegraph  service  of  the 
country  has  since  been  in  the  hands  of  private  corporations; 
except  that  during  the  war  the  Post  Office  Department  took 
over  the  management  of  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  as  the 
Railroad  Administration  took  over  the  transportation  lines. 


COMMUNICATION 


255 


The  telephone,  which  we  take  so  much  as  a  matter  of  course  in 

our  daily  lives,  has  practically  revolutionized  community  life  in 

less  than  fifty  years.    We  can  hardly  overestimate 

.,  1         •  ,  •  •  1       ,  .  ^  The  telephone 

Its  value  m  connection   with   the  transaction  of 

business,  in  promoting  social  life,  in  the  protection  of  the  com- 


■  ■'    sr 

■|^^,  ,^:  3 

IflJ 

The  First  TelephoNie  Message  from  Washington,  D.C. 
TO  Havana,  Cuba 

President  Harding  is  the  fifth  from  the  left.  Next  to  him  on  the  right  is  the 
Director-General  of  the  Pan-American  Union  and  next  to  him  is  Secretary  of  State 
Hughes.  General  Pershing  is  the  third  person  from  the  left  end  of  the  picture. 

munity  and  of  the  home.  It  has  lifted  the  farmer  out  of  his 
isolation,  for  there  are  8,000  rural  telephone  systems  in  the 
United  States,  serving  two  million  farm  homes.  As  we  sit 
in  our  homes  we  may  converse  with  ease  with  persons  in  almost 
any  part  of  the  United  States.  And  now  the  wireless  telephone 
is  coming  into  use.  At  the  close  of  the  recent  war  American 
aviators  were  talking  with  one  another,  and  receiving  orders 
from  the  ground,  by  this  Ineans;    and  since  then  wireless  te- 


256  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

lephony  has  been  developed  so  that,  while  this  chapter  is  being 
written,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  Washington,  has 
conversed  with  the  President  of  Cuba,  in  Havana. 

Who  was  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse?  Who  is  Alexander  Graham  Bell?  Mar- 
coni? 

Make  note  of  any  items  found  in  the  newspapers  and  magazines  regarding 
the  advances  made  in  wireless  telegraphy  and  telephony. 

What  particular  advantages  has  the  telephone  brought  to  your  home? 

What  advantages  has  the  telephone  brought  to  your  community  in  rela- 
tion to  business  life?    To  social  life?    Safety  of  life  and  property? 

Arrange  a  visit  to  a  telephone  exchange,  and  report  on  what  you  see. 
How  can  you  cooperate  to  secure  good  telephone  service  in  your  community? 

Do  you  have  more  than  one  telephone  company  in  your  city?  If  so  why 
is  it?  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  single  telephone 
system  in  a  city? 

Write  a  theme  on  "Modern  Means  of  Communication  and  the  Growth  of  a 
World  Community." 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  B:   Lesson  10,  Telephone  and  telegraph. 
Series  C:   Lesson    i,  The  war  and  aeroplanes. 
Lesson    9,  Inventions. 
The  development  of  writing. 

Picture  Writing  of  the  American  Indians,  loth  Annual  Report  of  the  U.S.  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  1 888-1 889.    This  is  profusely  illustrated  and  very  interesting. 
The  volume  may  be  in  the  public  library.    It  may  be  diflBcult  to  obtain,  other- 
wise, unless  through  a  representative  in  Congress. 
Tylor,  E.  B.,  Anthropology,  chaps,  iv— vii  (D.  Appleton  &  Co.),  and  Early  History 

of  Mankind,  chaps,  ii-v  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.). 
Given,  J.  L.,  The  Making  of  a  Newspaper  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.). 
.Annual  Reports  of  the  Postmaster  General  of  the  United  States. 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  1918,  pp.  13-24,  29-31,  for  a  discussion  of 
the  necessity   of  eliminating   illiteracy   and   teaching  English  to   foreigners. 
There  is  much  magazine  literature  on  this  subject. 


CHAPTER  XV 

HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

Two  boys  sat  on  a  box  in  the  May  sunshine  and  watched  a 
fast  freight  train  rattle  by.  .  .  . 

"Here's  a  funny  thing,"  said  Tom.  "If  you  touch  those  rails 
you  touch  something  that  touches  Chicago  and  New  York." 

"And  Pittsburgh,"  Ranny  added. 

They  climbed  down  from  the  box  and  laid  ceremonial  hands 
upon  the  track  and  were  duly  thrilled.^ 

This  observation  of  Tom  and  Ranny,  if  carried  a  little  further, 
is  one  to  thrill  even  older  people  than  they;  —  the  thought  of 
being  "in  touch"  with  people  and  communities  Highways  the 
everywhere  by  means  of  the  highways  that  cover  channel  of 
the  earth  as  with  a  net.  We  step  out  of  our  door-  ^°°^^^^  ^°^ 
way  into  the  city  street  and  at  once  "touch  something  that 
touches"  every  other  doorway  in  our  city;  and  the  city  street 
is  but  a  link  in  the  network  of  highways  that  also  includes 
country  road,  railway,  and  ocean  route,  and  that  "touches" 
not  only  Chicago  and  New  York  and  Pittsburgh,  but  every 
community  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  will  lead  us  anywhere, 
and  it  brings  to  our  door,  from  near  and  far,  the  products  of 
men's  labor  to  supply  our  daily  wants.  Highways  are  the 
physical  bonds  that  bind  people  together  into  communities,  and 
the  channels  through  which  cooperation  takes  place. 

"The  problems  of  the  street  are  the  first,  the  last,  and  the 
greatest  of  the  material  problems  of  the  city,"  says  one  writer. 
"It  is  the  street  that  makes  the  city  possible  to  begin  with, 

1  From  "  Young-Man- Afraid-Of-His-Future,"  by  Howard  Brubaker,  in  Harper's 
Monthly  Magazine,  May,  192 1. 

257 


258  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

that  permits  the  city's  growth  year  by  year,  and  that  finally 
must  check  the  increase  of  population  and  business  by  sheer 
The  problem  inability  to  provide  .  opportunity  for  movement, 
of  the  street  jjere,  by  the  cooperation  of  the  whole  community,  a 
free  way  is  provided,  an  'open  road,'  a  channel  for  trafl&c  and 
transportation  for  the  use  of  all  alike.  .  .  .  The  street  is  the 
symbol  of  the  free  city  wherein  all  cooperate  to  secure  oppor- 
tunity for  all."^ 

Another  writer  says:  "The  streets  of  a  city  have  been  likened 
to  the  skeleton  of  the  human  body  which  fixes  and  determines 
the  general  contour  of  the  body.  Once  established  they  are 
difficult  and  expensive  to  alter.  Boston  spent  between  1829  and 
1 910  about  $40,000,000  widening,  straightening,  and  extending 
streets."  ^  An  illustration  of  the  difiiculty  and  cost  of  altering 
streets  when  they  are  once  fixed  is  found  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa: 

The  northwest  section  of  Des  Moines  has  long  been  one  of  the  best  and 
most  populous  residential  sections  of  the  city.  This  section  never  had  a 
satisfactory  thoroughfare  leading  direct  to  the  main  business 
The  expen-  section.  The  car  line  makes  no  less  than  eight  turns  in 
Des  Moines  S°'^S  about  two  miles,  and  general  traffic  follows  about  the 
same  route,  zigzagging  around  the  two  sides  of  the  squares 
in  order  to  avoid  grades  and  poor  pavements. 

There  has  always  been  a  natural  diagonal  way  of  easy  grades  from  the 
down-town  district.  .  .  .  Thirty  years  ago  this  was  a  ravine,  generally  filled 
with  flood  water  after  a  heavy  rain,  but  about  that  time  it  was  being  pro- 
vided with  a  large  concrete  bo.x  culvert,  now  known  as  Birds'  Run  sewer. 
The  ravine  was  then  filled  up  and  the  adjoining  land  reclaimed  for  use.  At 
the  time  the  sewer  was  built  it  was  proposed  to  make  a  street  up  through  the 
valley  which  followed  the  old  ravine,  and  it  could  have  been  done  for  less 
than  $20,000  at  that  time.  But  objectors  killed  the  proposition.  Dwellings 
of  the  poorest  kind  and  cheap  business  buildings  were  erected  all  through 
this  district,  until  the  ravine  and  sewer  were  almost  forgotten. 

But  the  northwest  section  was  growing  rapidly.  The  inconvenience  and 
increased  cost  of  the  poor  traffic  were  being  felt  more  and  more  seriously  every 
year.     So  in  1916  the  Town  Planning  Committee  proposed  to  the  City  Coun- 

*  D.  F.  Wilcox,  in  The  American  City,  p.  28. 

2  Charles  A.  Beard,  American  City  Government,  p.  242. 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


259 


cil,  and  the  City  Council  immediately  adopted,  the  necessary  resolutions  for 
the  construction  of  a  thoroughfare  no  feet  wide,  following  this  Birds'  Run 
sewer  and  to  be  called*  Keosauqua  Way. 

Hardly  had  the  City  Council  taken  hold  of  the  project  vigorously  with  the 
intention  of  seeing  it  through,  when  opposition  meetings  were  held  all 
through  the  district  and  many  protests  were  filed.  These  objections  were 
finally  overcome,  however,  by  showing  the  advantages  to  be  gained,  and  espe- 
cially by  showing  the  effect  that  the  highway  would  have  in  increasing  land 
values. 


Ki;(.)SAi:(jrA  Way,  1)i:s  AIdim  ^,  li>\\  a 
This  photograph  shows  buildings  that  are  being  removed  for  the  construction  of 
the  diagonal  highway  connecting  the  business  center  with  one  of  the  best  residential 
sections  of  the  ci'^^y. 

Thirty  years  ago  Keosauqua  Way  could  have  been  built  for  less  than 
$20,000;  to-day  it  will  cost  $600,000,  not  counting  the  paving.  During  those 
years  millions  of  dollars  have  been  spent  in  time  and  inconvenience  by  the 
people  going  back  and  forth  over  the  old  crooked  and  roundabout  way.i 

What  is  meant  by  one  of  the  writers  quoted  above  when, he 
said  that  "it  is  the  street  that  permits  the  city's  growth  year 
by  year,  and  that  finally  must  check  the  increase  ^j^    j^^ 
of  population  and  business  by  sheer  inability  to   ing  burden  of 
provide    opportunity    for    movement"    is    made   *^®  ^^'■^®* 
clearer  by  another  statement  in  the  same  book  (written  in  1904): 

1  Frank  E.  Wetherell,  in  The  American  City  (magazine),  October,  1920,  p.  373. 


26o  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  lower  part  of  Manhattan  Island  is  the  business  center  of  a  metropoli- 
tan community  of  nearly  five  million  people.  And  yet  if  skyscrapers  were 
built  everywhere  that  buildings  now  stand  in  the  district  below  Fourteenth 
Street,  ofj&ce  room  could  be  provided  for  four  or  five  times  the  amount  of 
business  now  conducted  there.  New  York  streets,  so  aptly  called  "city 
canons,"  simply  could  not  accommodate  the  traffic  that  would  be  involved 
in  this  multiplication  of  business. 

Another  writer  says: 

London  and  Paris  as  well  as  New  York  and  Chicago  have  found  their 
thoroughfare  systems  choked  with  the  ever-increasing  burden  that  has  been 
thrown  upon  them.  .  .  .  Street  traffic  is  increasing  so  rapidly  that  roadways 
that  a  few  decades  ago  seemed  adequate  for  all  time  have  become  so  con- 
gested as  seriously  to  menace  the  prosperity  of  the  city.  Street  traffic  is 
increasing  much  more  rapidly  than  population.  If  the  growth  of  street  traffic 
merely  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  population,  the  problem  of  making 
adequate  provision  for  the  future  would  be  sufficiently  difficult.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  the  street  burden  will  under  normal  conditions  increase 
twice  as  fast  as  population.  ...  As  a  city  spreads  and  distances  become  too 
great  for  walking,  it  is  natural  that  the  per  capita  number  of  rides  by  vehicle 
and  car  should  increase.  .  .  .  The  result  has  been  that  as  various  cities  have 
grown  in  population  and  area,  a  point  has  been  reached  where  it  has  become 
physically  impossible  to  handle  a  sufficient  number  of  street  cars  at  a  rea- 
sonable speed  over  the  surface  of  the  streets  to  carry  the  traffic.^ 

The  introduction  of  the  automobile  has  been  an  important 
factor  in  the  increasing  congestion  of  city  streets.  "The  private 
The  effect  of  automobile  takes  from  two  to  twenty  times  as 
the  auto-  much  street  space  per  passenger  carried  as  does 

the  street  car."  While  ''in  1910  there  were  500,000 
motor  cars  in  use  in  the  United  States,  in  191 8  there  were 
6,088,000."  On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  the  motor  truck  tends 
to  relieve  street  congestion  because  of  its  greater  capacity,  speed, 
and  ease  of  movement  as  compared  with  the  horse-drawn  truck; 
but  the  extent  to  which  the  motor  truck  can  be  economically 
used  depends  upon  the  adequacy  of  the  thoroughfare  system. 

Extreme  congestion  means  not  only  that  street  car  service  is  disrupted, 
but  that  all  trucking  and  commercial  traffic  is  slowed  down.    The  cost  of 

1  Robert  H.  Whitten,  in  The  American  City  (magazine),  October,  ig20,  p.  351. 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


261 


trucking  is  a  much  larger  factor  in  the  cost  of  most  goods  than  is  railroad 
freight.  Many  products  are  transferred  by  vehicle  through  city  streets  a 
half-dozen  or  more  times  before  they  reach  the  consumer.  If,  through  street 
congestion,  the  time  and  cost  of  trucking  goods  are  doubled,  the  toll  due  to 
congestion  is  certainly  enormous.  It  is  paid  in  part  by  the  public  in  higher 
prices.    It  also  places  a  serious  handicap  on  city  commerce  and  industry.^ 


Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 
Note  the  congestion  of  traffic,  and  the  electric  device  for  traffic  regulation 

If  the  rapid  growth  of  our  cities  and  the  invention  of  the 
automobile  could  have  been  foreseen,  a  great  deal  of  the  present 
difficulty  of  city  transportation  might  have  been   ^j^^  impor- 
avoided  by  wise  planning  of  the  city  streets.    Such  tance  of 
planning  would  have  included  ample  provision  for  ^  ^  ^° 
direct  thoroughfares  from  one  part  of  the  city  to  another,  such 
as  the  new  diagonal  highway  in  Des  Moines,  or  the  radiating 
street  system  of  Washington  or  of  Indianapolis.     It  would  also 

'  Robert  H.  Whitten,  in  The  American  City,  October,  1920,  p.  352. 


262 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Transportation  in  the  City  Street 
Surface  and  elevated  transportation,  Herald  Square,  New  York  City 


have  allowed  much  greater  width  to  many  of  the  streets  than  is 
actually  the  case  in  most  of  our  large  cities.  Failure  to  provide 
in  advance  for  direct,  wide  highways  has  necessitated  recon- 
struction in  many  cJtJ^S;  at  enormous  cost,  as  in  the  cases  of 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  263 

Des  Moines  and  Boston  already  noted.  Small  cities  that  are 
rapidly  growing,  or  that  give  promise  of  growth,  have  little 
excuse  for  failure  to  plan  for  the  future,  or  for  making  such  a 
mistake  of  judgment  as  that  made  by  Des  Moines  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  ago.  Such  cities  should  profit  by  the  experience  of 
older  and  larger  cities. 

Is  the  comparison  of  the  streets  of  a  city  to  the  skeleton  of  the  body  a 
good  one? 

In  what  respect  are  the  streets  of  a  city  like  the  arteries  of  the  human 
body? 

What  is  there  in  a  city  that  might  be  compared  to  the  nerves  of  the  body? 
Explain. 

Is  the  street  system  of  your  city  well  planned  to  provide  for  the  needs  of 
transportation  of  people  and  commodities?  In  what  respects  do  you  think 
it  is  faulty?    Study  a  street  map  of  your  city. 

What  is  the  width  of  the  street  you  live  on?  Of  that  on  which  your  school 
is  located?  Are  these  streets  wide  enough?  How  do  they  compare  in  width 
with  the  principal  business  streets? 

Have  you  any  narrow  or  crooked  business  streets  in  your  city?  If  so,  how 
did  it  happen? 

Has  your  city  a  problem  of  street  congestion?  If  so,  what  are  the  causes? 
How  is  your  city  attempting  to  meet  the  problem? 

Explain  fully  why  traffic  tends  to  increase  at  least  twice  as  rapidly  as 
population. 

Write  a  theme  on  "The  influence  of  the  automobile  on  the  growth  of  our 
city." 

Explain  in  detail  how  congestion  of  traffic  tends  to  increase  the  price  of 
food. 

What  experience  has  your  city  had  in  widening  or  straightening  streets, 
or  in  constructing  new  highways  through  the  heart  of  the  city?  If  there  has 
been  such  experience,  gather  such  facts  as  you  can  regarding  the  cost  to  the 
city.    How  was  the  cost  met? 

Some  of  our  largest  cities  have  sought  to  relieve  congestion  in 
the  streets  by  the  construction  of  elevated  and  subway  systems 
of  railways.    Both  of  these  methods  of  transporta-   £^0^3  to 
tion   have   naturally   been   developed   farthest   in   relieve 
New  York  City  which,  in  191 6,  had  over  1,600  miles       "^^^  ^°° 
of  surface,  elevated,  and  subway  trackage  over  which  nearly 


264 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


HITDSON  &  MANHATTAN 


Hudson  River  Tubes 

A  diagram  showing  subway  tubes  as  they  emerge  from  under  the  Hudson 

River  and  branch  oS  in  different  directions  at  dififerent  levels 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  265 

two  billion  passengers  were  carried  in  that  year.  More  than 
600  miles  of  this  trackage  is  included  in  New  York's  elevated  and 
subway  systems.  The  elevated  and  subway  trains  are  almost 
always  crowded,  and  at  "rush  hours"  are  packed  to  suffocation, 
but  without  apparent  effect  upon  the  congestion  of  traffic  in  the 
streets. 

In  addition  to  a  convenient  general  plan  and  a  suitable  width 
of  streets,  the  method  of  construction  is  of  great  importance. 
Here  again  recent  changes  in  modes  of  transporta- 
tion  are  an  important  factor.  Old  methods  of 
paving  do  not  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  countless  automobiles 
and  ponderous  motor  trucks.  The  old  "macadam"  pavement, 
for  example,  made  by  rolling  crushed  stone  into  a  solid  mass, 
quickly  wears  out  under  heavy  traffic,  although  it  may  still  be 
used  under  conditions  of  lighter  traffic.  The  rough  cobblestone 
pavement,  once  common  in  many  cities,  is  not  only  noisy  (less 
so,  now,  under  rubber  tires),  but  it  impedes  rapid  movement  of 
traffic.  The  most  common  paving  materials  in  cities  are  granite 
blocks,  vitrified  brick,  wooden  blocks,  and  asphalt,  each  of  which 
has  its  advantages  under  given  conditions  of  traffic. 

Badly  laid  pavements  have  been  the  source  of  enormous  waste 

of  money.    They  quickly  get  out  of  repair,  thus  impeding  trafl&c 

and    requiring    new   expenditures    of    money  for   Expert  direc- 

repair   or    rebuilding.     Even    with    the    best    of   tion  and  pub- 

,  •      lie  support 

pavements,  constant  mspection  and  prompt  repair 

of  defects  in  the  pavements  are  necessary  in  the  interest  of 
economy,  of  traffic  facilitation,  of  appearance,  and  of  health. 
The  responsibility  for  street  construction  and  repair  is  ordinarily 
placed  with  a  department  of  public  works.  The  building  of  a 
street  requires  expert  engineering  and  workmanship,  which 
have  too  frequently  not  been  provided.  Under  our  more  modern 
forms  of  city  government  (see  Chapter  XXVI)  more  attention 
is  given  than  formerly  to  securing  expert  service  in  street  con- 
struction.   It  is  the  common  practice  to  assess  the  major  part  of 


266  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  cost  of  street  improvement  against  the  owners  of  abutting 
property,  on  the  ground  that  this  property  is  most  directly 
benefited. 

Proposals  of  street  improvement  are  likely  to  be  met  with  opposition  from 
abutting  property  owners.  Such  improvements  should  of  course  not  be 
undertaken  without  a  careful  weighing  of  the  advantages  against  the  costs, 
and  a  careful  consideration  of  the  interests  of  the  entire  community.  Very 
often  such  opposition  is  short-sighted,  as  in  the  case  of  the  construction  of 
Keosauqua  Way  in  Des  Moines  (see  page  258).  In  that  case,  "without 
exception  the  abutting  properties  have  more  than  doubled  in  value,  some  of 
them  five  times."  Where  "business  property  has  been  valued  at  $50  per 
front  foot  for  years,  owners  are  now  refusing  $200."  The  owner  of  "a  four- 
family  brick  flat  building  valued  at  $14,000  to  $16,000  was  recently  offered 
$42,000." 

Report  on  the  history  of  the  development  of  street  railways  in  your  city 
(i)  with  regard  to  their  extension,  (2)  with  regard  to  changes  in  motive 
power,  (3)  with  regard  to  improvements  in  service. 

Report  on  the  relation  between  the  development  of  street  railway's  service 
and  the  growth  of  different  sections  and  suburbs  of  your  city. 

Has  street  railway  fare  increased  recently  in  your  city?  If  so,  why?  Who 
determines  what  street  railway  fare  shall  be?  Can  the  street  railway  com-- 
pany  increase  the  fare  at  will?    Why? 

What  materials  are  used  for  street  pavements  in  your  city?  In  your  home 
street?  In  the  street  on  which  your  school  is  located?  In  the  principal 
business  streets?  Are  these  materials  well  chosen  with  regard  to  the  use  to 
which  the  streets  are  put? 

Get  (or  make)  photographs  of  the  different  kinds  of  pavement  in  your  city. 

Describe,  with  the  use  of  diagrams,  the  methods  of  laying  the  different 
kinds  of  pavement. 

What  control  is  exercised  over  street  pavement  in  your  city  to  see  that 
it  is  well  laid? 

Are  there  unpaved  streets  in  your  city?  Pavements  that  have  notoriously 
failed  to  wear  well?  Where  are  such  streets?  How  does  it  happen  that 
there  are  such  streets? 

Are  the  pavements  in  your  city  kept  in  good  repair?  Who  is  responsible 
for  street  repair?  If  your  street  is  in  poor  repair,  how  would  you  proceed  to 
have  it  put  in  good  repair? 

How  is  the  cost  of  paving  met  in  your  city?  The  cost  of  street  repairs? 
Are  they  met  in  the  same  way? 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  267 

Do  proposed  street  improvements  meet  with  opposition  in  your  city? 
How  does  a  householder  proceed  if  he  wants  to  protest  against  the  improve- 
ment of  his  street? 

Who  decides  finally,  in  your  city,  whether  a  street  shall  be  improved  or 
not? 

Gather  information  regarding  the  effect  of  particular  street  improvements 
in  your  city  on  property  values. 

What  department  of  your  city  government  has  control  over  street  con- 
struction? 

Arrange  for  an  excursion  to  the  office  of  your  city  engineer  to  inspect  plans 
and  drawings  of  street  improvements  now  under  way  or  proposed,  and  to 
have  his  duties  explained. 

"The  streets  of  a  modern  city  are  far  more  than  mere  high- 
ways for  surface  use.  Railway  cars  run  above  and  below  as 
well  as  on  the  surface;  messages,  light,  heat,  and  pubu,,  ut^. 
power  are  sent  through  aerial  or  underground  ties  in  the 
wires;  pipes  beneath  the  streets  bring  us  water,  ^  ^®®  ^ 
gas,  and  steam;  still  other  conduits  remove  liquid  wastes  from 
our  dwellings  and  surface  and  subsoil  water  from  our  yards  and 
streets."  ^  The  streets  of  a  city  are  common  property,  and  all 
that  is  in  them,  as  described  in  the  foregoing  quotation,  is  for  the 
common  welfare.  Important  as  all  these  things  are,  they  should 
not  be  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  freest  use  of  the  streets 
for  their  original  purpose  —  the  movement  of  traffic.  The 
laying  and  maintenance  of  tracks,  wires,  and  pipes  often  do 
interfere  with  traffic,  and  with  safety,  and  even  infringe  upon 
the  property  rights  of  the  people  in  the  streets  (see  Chapter  XXI, 
pp.  398).  Well-governed  cities  have  adopted  measures  to  prevent 
this.  The  franchises  granted  to  public  service  corporations 
(see  pp.  397-399)  now  usually  impose  obligations  upon  them  to 
safeguard  the  rights  of  the  people.  Elevated  structures  are  kept 
off  the  main  streets.  Surface  lines  are  permitted  only  in  streets 
wide  enough  to  accommodate  them.  Trolley,  telephone,  tele- 
graph, and  light  wires  are  being  placed  underground  instead  of 
being  permitted  to  mar  the  beauty  and  jeopardize  the  safety  of 

'  M.  N.  Baker,  Municipal  Engineering  and  Sanitation,  p.  11, 


268  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  streets.  Excavations  made  for  sewers,  water  mains,  and 
other  purposes,  must  be  made  in  a  way  to  interfere  as  little  as 
possible  with  the  use  of  the  street,  and  the  pavements  replaced 
in  their  original  condition.  Street  railway  companies  are  made 
responsible  for  maintaining  the  pavement  between  their  tracks. 
We  have  already  noted  the  relation  that  the  public  street  bears 
to  the  community's  health  (page  171),  to  the  recreation  of  the 
Responsi-  people  (page  198),  to  safety  (page  164),  and 
biiity  of  the  to  the  beauty  of  the  community  (pages  214- 
216).  ''The  street  is  the  symbol  of  the  free  city 
wherein  all  cooperate  to  secure  opportunity  for  all."  The  street 
can  perform  its  varied  services  to  the  fullest  extent  only  when 
all  who  use  it  cooperate  at  all  times  to  make  it  possible.  Every 
person  who  uses  the  street  has  a  share  of  responsibility  for  the 
freedom  of  tralSc  movement,  and  for  its  safety,  its  healthfulness, 
its  appearance. 

Find  out  just  what  wires,  pipes,  and  other  "utilities"  exist  under  the 
pavements  of  your  city  streets.  Try  to  get  sufficient  information  to  enable 
you  to  draw  a  diagram  of  one  of  your  streets,  showing  the  placing  of  these 
utilities 

To  what  extent  have  overhead  wires  been  removed  from  your  streets 
and  placed  underground?  Give  all  the  reasons  that  occur  to  you  for  placing 
wires  underground.     What  reasons  are  advanced  for  not  removing  them? 

What  is  the  experience  of  your  city  with  regard  to  the  injury  of  pavements 
by  excavations  for  "public  utilities"? 

Discuss  the  meaning  of  the  statement  that  "the  street  is  the  symbol  of 
the  free  city  wherein  all  cooperate  to  secure  opportunity  for  all." 

In  what  ways  can  you  cooperate  to  make  this  statement  true  of  your  city? 

Good  country  roads  are  of  great  importance  to  the  people  of 
cities  as  well  as  to  farmers  and  rural  communities.  An  excellent 
Value  of  illustration  of  the  recognition  of  the  common  inter- 

country  roads  est  of  city  and  country  in  the  public  roads,  and  of 
effective  cooperation  in  improving  them,  was  given 
in  Chapter  VI,  page  70,  in  the  case  of  Christian  County,  Ken- 
tucky. The  wide  use  of  the  automobile  has  done  a  great  deal  to 
awaken  the  people  of  cities  to  their  interest  in  country  roads. 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  269 

The  roads  of  one  county  may  be  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  other  counties  in  the  state;  and  those  of  one  state  of  impor- 
tance to  other  states.  The  crossties  produced  from  q^^^  roads 
the  timber  of  a  Virginia  county  may  be  wanted  for  not  merely  of 
railroad  building  in  a  distant  state.  The  cotton 
from  the  plantations  of  Tennessee  or  Texas  is  needed  at  the 
mills  in  New  England.  The  wheat  of  the  great  farms  of  the 
northwest  supplies  the  whole  nation.  Most  of  the  freight  carried 
on  the  railroads  and  steamships  has  at  some  time  and  in  some 
form  been  hauled  in  wagons  and  trucks  over  country  roads.  It 
is  clear,  then,  that  the  character  of  the  highways  in  any  locality 
is  a  matter  of  national,  and  even  of  world-wide,  interest. 

When  our  nation  was-  created,  the  question  of  highways  at 
once  became  very  important.  The  states  needed  to  be  bound 
together,  and  the  pubHc  lands  settled.  The  Early  national 
Constitution  gave  Congress  the  power  "to  estab-  interest  in 
lish  post  offices  and  post  roads,"  and  "  to  regulate  '^°*  "'  '°^ 
commerce  .  .  .  among  the  several  states";  but  it  was  not 
clear  how  far  these  powers  could  be  exercised  for  "internal 
improvements."  Roads  were  proposed  in  great  numbers.  In 
1806  Congress  authorized  the  building  of  the  Cumberland  Road, 
which  began  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  and  was  finally  completed  as 
far  west  as  Illinois.  Road  building  was,  however,  left  chiefly  to 
the  states  and  to  private  enterprise.  Many  "turnpikes"  were 
built  by  private  companies,  which  charged  tolls  for  their  use. 

The  building  of  many  canals  and,  later,  the  coming  of  rail- 
roads caused  interest  in  public  highways  to  decline,  and  their 
building  was  left  almost  wholly  to  local  initiative,  p^^j.  ^03^3 
where  it  remained  until  very  recently.  The  result  in  the 
is  that  the  United  States  has  had  the  poorest  roads  ""  ^  *  ®^ 
in  the  civilized  world.  Local  communities  could  not  afford  to 
employ  expert  officials  to  plan  and  supervise  road  construction. 

Under  these  conditions  the  road  situation  became  so  bad 
that  public  sentiment  was  gradually  aroused  on  the  subject. 


270 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


State  control  was  agitated.  New  Jersey  was  the  first  state  to 
pass  a  law  placing  the  highways  within  the  state  under  state  reg- 
State  control  ulation.  Other  states  followed  New  Jersey's  exam- 
of  highways  p^g^  ^^til  by  1 914  forty-two  states  had  state  high- 
way departments.  These  differ  greatly  from  one  another  in 
organization,  powers,  and  efficiency. 


^ 

^■1          -'--"^^^^^kk^ 

III  HI      ■■■■  -f«..^.rjB-  ;■.        M 

LJj-     g. 

mHl^y^^^^Ss^^^^^'  ''''^^SSmif--9h 

Itp' '•'"'??- 

3 

''Si,    : 

Transportation  by  Wagon  and  Motor  Truck 


In  a  number  of  states,  state  highways  have  been  built,  paid  for 

and  managed  by  the  state.    California  has  two  trunk  lines  run- 

T,        *  nine  the  entire  length  of  the  state,  with  branch 

Recent   prog-  o  f'         _  ' 

ress  under  lines  connecting  them  with  the  county  seats.  To 
state  control     j^^j^^^j-y   j^    j^j^^   Massachusetts  had   completed 

more  than  1,000  miles  of  state  highways.  New  York  has  an 
extensive  system,  and  Maryland  is  another  example.  But  the 
plan  most  commonly  in  use  is  state  aid  and  supervision  in  the 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  271 

construction  of  roads  by  counties.  This  was  the  New  Jersey 
plan.  By  it,  plans  for  road  improvement  with  state  aid  in  any 
county  must  be  approved  by  the  state  highway  department,  and 
construction  is  supervised  by  state  engineers.  The  cost  is 
divided  between  the  state  and  the  local  community. 

In  New  Jersey  the  property  owners  along  the  highway,  who  of  course 
are  most  directly  benefited,  were  to  pay  one  tenth  of  the  cost,  the  state 
one  third,  and  the  county  the  remainder.  In  Wisconsin,  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  in  each  county  is  required  to  plan  a  "county  system" 
of  highways  to  be  a  part  of  the  state  system.  The  cost  of  each  county  system 
is  divided  equally  among  township,  county,  and  state.  The  work  is  directed 
by  a  county  highway  commissioner,  but  in  accordance  with  plans  and  speci- 
fications of  the  state  highway  commission.  In  Ohio  a  system  of  "inter- 
county  highways"  is  being  built,  connecting  all  the  county  seats  of  the 
state.  Counties,  towns,  and  property  owners  along  the  highway  must 
provide  an  amount  equal  to  that  provided  by  the  state,  and  the  work  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  state  highway  department. 

In  Virginia  the  cost  of  highway  construction  is  divided  equally  between 
state  and  local  community;  but  the  counties  often  accept  from  the  state  the 
labor  of  prison  convicts  instead  of  money.  Convict  labor  on  the  roads  is 
quite  common  in  southern  states. 

Our  roads,  even  in  remote  rural  districts,  are  of  national 
importance  for  the  reasons  stated  on  page  269.  Moreover, 
they  are  becoming  more  and  more  used  for  the  transportation 
of  freight  and  passengers  over  long  distances,  for  which  the 
introduction  of  the  automobile  and  the  motor  truck  is  respon- 
sible. Therefore,  national  codperation  is  necessary  for  adequate 
road  improvement. 

The  work  of   the  national  government  in  behalf  of  good 

roads  has  heretofore  been  largely  educational  and  advisory. 

In  1893  the  Ofhce  of  Road  Inquiry  (now  the  Office 

Work  of  the 


gov- 


of  Public  Roads)  was  created  in  the  United  States       J^  ^j 

national  ,,- ' 

Department  of  Agriculture  to  investigate  methods   ernment  for 
of  road  making  and  mariagement.    The  results  of  '^rovement 
its   investigations   have   been   published    for    the 
benefit  of  the  country,  advice  given  when  asked  for.    Here 


272  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

and  there  model  or  experimental  roads  were  constructed 
to  test  new  methods  or  to  serve  as  object  lessons  to  the  localities 
where  they  were  built.  Good  road  building  has  been  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  extension  of  the  rural  free  mail  delivery. 
The  national  government  has  also  given  to  many  states  pubUc 
lands  within  their  borders,  the  proceeds  from  which  were  to  be 
used  for  road  construction;  and  a  part  of  the  proceeds  from  the 
sale  of  timber  in  the  national  forests  is  devoted  to  road  building 
in  the  locahty. 

In  1 91 6,  Congress  passed  the  law  known  as  the  Federal  Aid 
Federal  Aid  Road  Act.  This  law  places  the  national  govern- 
Road  Act  ment  in  the  same  relation  to  the  states,  in  the 
matter  of  road  building,  that  the  state  governments  have  borne 
to  the  counties  in  granting  state  aid. 

The  Federal  Aid  Road  Act  appropriated  75  million  dollars 
to  aid  states  in  improving  their  "rural  post  roads,"  and  10 
million  dollars  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  roads  in 
the  national  forests.  The  money  is  given  to  the  states  only  on 
their  request,  and  on  condition  that  each  state  shall  provide  an 
amount  equal  to  that  received  from  the  national  treasury. 

The  administration  of  the  law  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Office 
of  Public  Roads.  When  a  state  desires  aid  from  the  national 
Responsibility  government,  its  highway  department  must  draw 
of  the  state  ^p  piaj-,s  {qj-  t^g  improvements  proposed  and  submit 
them  to  the  district  engineer,  who  in  turn  submits  them  with 
recommendations  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  whose  approval 
they  must  have.  Having  obtained  this  approval,  the  work  is 
carried  on  by  the  state  as  in  the  case  of  other  roads  entirely  under 
state  control. 

The  immediate  effect  of  the  law  has  been  to  cause  the  organ- 
ization of  state  highway  departments  in  the  few  states  that  did 
Results  of  not  already  have  them,  and  the  reorganization  of 
federal  aid  gy(,j^  departments  in  the  states  where  they  were 
weak;  for  the  Federal  Aid  Road  Act  provides  that  aid  may  be 


mCHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  273 

given  to  the  states  only  on  condition  that  they  have  effective 
highway  departments.  Every  state  in  the  Union  now  has  a 
highway  department,  and  road  improvement  is  going  on  at  a 
rate  never  before  known. 

Has  your  state  a  good  reputation  for  its  country  roads? 
Explain  particular  ways  in  which  country  roads  are  of  importance  to  your 
city. 

Report  on  the  influence  of  good  roads  upon  rural  prosperity  and  well- 
being  (see  Dunn,  Commimily  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  pp.  248-258,  and  other 
references  at  the  end  of  the  chapter). 

Do  the  residents  of  your  city  help  pay  for  country  road  improvement 
in  your  vicinity? 

Do  bad  country  roads  in  your  vicinity  cost  the  people  of  your  city  any- 
thing?  E.xplain. 

Make  a  report  on  any  movement  for  good  roads  that  may  exist  in  your  state. 

To  what  extent  is  transportation  by  motor  truck  being  used  between  your 
city  and  other  cities?  Consult  your  father,  or  business  friends,  as  to  the 
likelihood  of  such  means  of  transportation  being  developed.  What  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  does  it  present?  What  effect  is  it  likely  to  have 
UDon  road  improvement? 

Report  on  the  organization  and  work  of  the  state  highway  commission 
of  your  state. 

Has  your  state  a  system  of  "state  highways"?  If  so,  trace  on  a  map  the 
routes  of  these  highways.    Report  on  their  history  and  their  value. 

Do  you  know  of  any  toll  roads  or  toll  bridges  in  your  state?  If  so,  where 
are  they?     Report  on  their  history. 

Report  on  the  history  of  the  Cumberland  Road.    Show  its  route  on  a  map. 

What  and  where  is  the  "Lincoln  Highway"? 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  Ofi&ce  of  Public  Roads  in  the  U.S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

Railroads  have  been  one  of  the  principal  factors  in  the  growth 
of  cities  and  in   the  development  of  our  nation. 
Without  them  the  great  territory  of  the  United 
States  could  hardly  have  been  held  together  as  a  single  nation. 

Railroads  have  been  developed  chiefly  by  private  enterprise. 
They  are  owned  by  private  corporations  which  do  business 
under  charters  granted  by  the  government  and  are  regulated  by 
law.    Control  over  them  has  been  exercised  chiefly  by  the  state 


274  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

governments,  except  in  matters  affecting  interstate  commerce, 
which  falls  under  the  control  of  Congress.  Practically  all  of 
r„„^,„^^„+  our  states  now  have  railroad  commissions,  or 
control  of  "public  utilities"  commissions,  which  regulate  the 

rates  that  may  be  charged,  and  the  service  that 
must  be  performed  by  the  railroads  in  the  several  states.     As 


A  Railroad  Yard 

Our  freight  transportation  difficulties  have  been  due  largely  to  a  lack  of 

adequate  terminal  facihties. 

the  parts  of  our  country  have  become  more  closely  bound 
together  and  interdependent,  largely  by  the  influence  of  the 
railroads  themselves,  an  increasingly  large  part  of  commerce  has 
become  "interstate"  in  character,  and  railway  transportation 
has  become  more  and  more  a  national  concern.  The  result  is  an 
increasing  control  by  the  national  government. 

In  1887  Congress  created  an  Interstate  Commerce  Commis-' 
sion  with  power  to  inquire  into  the  management  of  the  business 
Interstate         of  "common  carriers,"  such  as  railroads,  steam- 
commerce        gj^jp  lines,  and  express  companies.     It  was  later 
given  power  to  fix  rates  which  such  carriers  could  charge.    Other 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  275 

laws  were  passed,  such  as  the  Sherman  Act,  or  "Anti-Trust 
Law,"  of  1890,  which  made  unlawful  any  "contract,  combina- 
tion ...  or  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade,"  which  checked 
abuses  that  characterized  railroad  management  at  that  time. 
(See  Chapter  XIX.) 

As  we  have  seen  in  our  study  of  street  traffic  (page  261),  trans- 
portation costs  enter  very  largely  into  the  prices  of  commodities 
and  the  cost  of  living.  It  is  necessary  for  govern-  Transporta- 
ment  to  see  that  transportation  companies  do  not  ^^^  003^0^*^ 
for  their  own  profit  impose  unjust  rates.  On  the  living 
other  hand,  state  and  national  commissions  are  not  permitted 
to  impose  rates  so  low  as  to  be  unfair  to  the  transportation 
companies.  To  do  so  has  been  held  by  the  courts  to  be  in  viola- 
tion of  the  constitutional  provision  that  no  one  shall  be  deprived 
of  property  without  due  process  of  law.  (See  Constitution, 
Amendment  V.)  The  determination  of  just  transportation  rates 
is  a  very  difficult  and  delicate  task. 

The  cost  and  comfort  of  living  depend  also  upon  the  service 
rendered  by  transportation  companies,  as  well  as  upon  their 
rates.  It  frequently  happens  that  there  is  a  scarcity  Transportation 
of  food  products,  or  of  coal,  in  one  locality  while  an  thrpubUc*^ 
abundance  exists  at  the  sources  of  production  or  at  welfare 
the  market  centers.  This  means  high  prices  and  discomfort  in 
the  regions  of  scarcity,  while  producers  in  other  sections  can 
hardly  sell  their  products  at  any  price.  Both  producers  and  con- 
sumers thus  suffer  hardship.  It  may  be  the  fault  of  transporta- 
tion companies,  when  they  think  more  of  their  own  profit  than 
of  community  service.  It  may  be  the  fault  of  unwise  laws  or  of 
rates  so  low  as  to  prevent  the  transportation  companies  from 
keeping  up  their  equipment  and  service.  Or  it  may  be  due  to 
other  more  remote  causes,  such  as  a  more  rapid  growth  of  popu- 
lation than  the  transportation  companies  can  keep  up  with.  In 
any  case,  we  can  see  the  very  great  difficulty,  as  well  as  the 
importance,  of   wise   control  by  government,  and   of   intelli- 


276  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

gent  understanding  by  the  people  of  their  transportation 
problems. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  recent  war,  the  need  for 
effective  transportation  service  led  the  government  to  take 
Government  unusual  steps  to  secure  it.  The  President  issued  a 
administra-  proclamation  by  which,  in  the  exercise  of  his  war 
tion  in  war  powers,  he  "  took  possession  and  assumed  control 
of  each  and  every  system  of  transportation  in  the  United  States 
and  the  appurtenances  thereof."  This  meant  assuming  control 
over  397,000  miles  of  railways  owned  by  2,905  corporations  and 
employing  more  than  1,700,000  persons.  The  management  of 
this  great  transportation  system  was  intrusted  to  a  Railroad 
Administration  with  a  Director  General  of  Railroads  at  its  head. 
The  ownership  of  these  railroads,  however,  remained  with  the 
private  companies,  which  were  to  receive  compensation  for  the 
use  of  their  property,  and  were  to  receive  back  the  railroads  after 
the  war  was  over.  This  return  of  the  railroads  to  their  owners 
has  now  taken  place. 

The  whole  purpose  of  the  government  in  its  management  of 
the  railroads  was  to  win  the  war,  the  convenience  of  the  public 
Advantages  of  t)eing  a  minor  consideration.  The  people  cheer- 
government  fully  put  up  with  inconveniences  of  travel  and  with 
managemen      j.^^gg  ^-j^^j-  ^j^gy  }^^(j  ^q^  experienced  while  the  roads 

were  under  private  management.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
certain  decided  advantages  in  the  management  of  all  railroads 
as  one  great  system.  It  meant  the  consolidation  of  competing 
lines  that  the  law  itself  prevented  the  railway  companies  from 
efifecting,  it  meant  shortening  routes  in  many  cases,  the  use  of 
common  freight  terminals  by  different  lines,  the  increase  of 
track  facilities  and  storage  areas  at  seaport  terminals,  the  selling 
of  passenger  tickets  good  over  any  one  of  several  roads  running 
between  two  points. 

Thefe  are  those  who  believe  that  the  railroads  should  be 
managed,  or  even  owned,  by  the  government  in  time  of  peace 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


277 


as  well  as  during  war.  There  are  others  who  believe  as  strongly 
in  private  ownership  and  direction.  Many  of  the  latter  believe, 
however,  that  a  more  perfect  control  should  be  exercised  over 
the  privately  owned  roads  by  the  government  under  laws  that 
protect  the  interests  of  the  public  and  that  at  the  same  time 


Brown  Brothers 


The  Dock 


permit,  or  even  require,  greater  cooperation  among  the  roads 
than  has  heretofore  existed.  Since  the  war,  bills  have  been 
introduced  in  Congress  looking  to  these  ends. 

In  early  days  rivers  were  used  for  transportation  to  a  large 
extent,  and  canals  were  proposed  in  great  numbers.  Some  of 
these  were  built  and  carried  a  large  amount  of  Water  trans- 
trafiSc.  The  coming  of  the  railroads  caused  water  portation 
transportation  to  decline,  to  the  nation's  great  loss.  The  war 
stimulated  the  use  of  our  waterways  to  a  considerable  extent, 


278 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


and  any  scheme  for  transportation  control  in  the  future  should 
provide  for  their  fullest  development  as  a  means  of  marketing 
the  products  of  our  farms,  forests,  mines,  and  factories. 


Modern  Methods  of  H axdlixo  a  Ship's  Cargo 
"We  discovered  methods  of  shipbuilding,  and  of  loading  and  unloading  ships  when 
they  are  built,  that  will  probably  enable  us  to  maintain  permanently  a  merchant 
marine." 

There  was  also  a  time,  in  the  early  part  of  our  history,  when 
our  seaports  swarmed  with  American  ships  that  sailed  every 
Effect  of  war  sea.  Our  shipping  afterward  declined  because  other 
nations  built  and  manned  ships  more  cheaply  than 
we  could  do.  We  allowed  these  other  nations  to 
carry  our  commerce.  We  deplored  the  fact  that  our  merchant 
marine  had  disappeared,  and  discussed  ways  and  means  to 
restore  it.  But  all  to  no  purpose,  until  the  great  war  came;  then 
we  had  to  have  ships.  Congress  created  the  United  States  Ship- 
ping Board  and  its  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation.    As  a  result, 


upon  our 
merchant 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  279 

and  within  a  year's  time,  the  United  States  took  rank  as  the 
leading  shipbuilding  nation  in  the  world.  It  had  more  shipyards, 
more  shipways,  more  ship  workers,  more  ships  under  construc- 
tion, and  was  building  more  ships  every  month  during  the  war 
than  any  other  country.  ^  Under  the  stress  of  necessity  methods 
of  shipbuilding  and  operation  were  developed  that  ought  to 
make  it  possible  for  the  United  States  to  compete  successfully 
in  the  future  with  other  nations,  even  though  our  workmen 
and  sailors  are  paid  more  than  those  of  other  nations.  By  our 
merchant  marine  the  American  farmer  and  the  American 
business  man  are  brought  into  touch  with  the  remotest  parts 
of  the  earth. 

As  a  result  of  the  war  our  government  came  into  possession  of 
a  great  fleet  of  merchant  ships.  Since  the  war,  however,  it  has 
been  seeking  to  sell  these  ships  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  private 
corporations.  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  traditional  policy  of 
our  government  to  leave  business  enterprise  as  largely  as  possible 
to  private  initiative.  It  will  be  interesting  to  watch  the  news- 
papers and  magazines  to  see  what  measures  our  government 
may  take  to  maintain  permanently  our  merchant  fleet. 

How  have  railroads  benefited  your  city? 

What  railway  systems  enter  your  city?  What  are  the  most  important 
cities  with  which  each  of  these  systems  brings  your  city  "in  touch"?  What 
special  interdependence  can  you  show  between  any  of  these  cities  and  your 
city?    (Obtain  railroad  maps  from  the  offices  of  the  roads.) 

What  parts  of  the  United  States  would  perhaps  have  been  most  likely 
to  have  maintained  an  independent  existence  if  railroads  had  not  been 
introduced? 

Look  up  the  story  of  the  first  steam  railway  in  the  United  States.  Also 
the  story  of  the  building  of  the  first  transcontinental  railway. 

What  control  does  your  state  government  exercise  over  the  railroads 
within  your  state  borders?    How  is  this  control  exercised? 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  United  States  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission. 

What  are  the  principal  arguments  for  and  against  government  ownership 
of  railroads? 

1  "Shipping  Facts,"  issued  by  the  U.S.  Shipping  Board,  September,  igi8. 


28o  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  reasons  exist  for  the  public  ownership  of  highways  that  do  not 
apply  to  public  ownership  of  railroads? 

What  control  over  railroads  does  our  national  government  exercise  to-day 
that  it  did  not  exercise  before  the  World  War? 

Who  are  some  of  the  men  who  have  been  most  influential  in  the  develop- 
ment of  railroads  in  the  United  States? 

What  are  some  of  the  more  important  canals  in  use  in  the  United  States 
to-day?  Why  do  these  canals  retain  their  importance  in  spite  of  the  develop- 
ment of  railroads? 

What  is  the  importance  of  the  Panama  Canal  to  the  United  States?  To 
the  world  at  large? 

What  are  some  of  the  other  great  canals  that  are  of  world-wide  impor- 
tance? 

What  kinds  of  commodities  are  transported  by  water  more  economically 
than  by  rail?  Why  is  this  so?  What  are  the  principal  commodities  trans- 
ported in  ships  on  the  Great  Lakes? 

Why  is  it  desirable  that  the  United  States  should  have  its  own  merchant 
marine  rather  than  depend  upon  the  ships  of  other  nations  to  transport 
our  commerce? 

What  are  the  duties  of  the  United  States  Shipping  Board  at  the  present 
time? 

Watch  for  items  in  the  newspapers  and  articles  in  the  magazines  relating 
to  our  merchant  marine.    Report  to  the  class  the  substance  of  what  you  read. 


READINGS 

Reports  of  your  city  government  relative  to  streets. 

Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  ix,  "The  Streets  of  the  City." 

Wilcox,  Delos  F.,  The  American  City  (Macmillan),  chap,  ii,  "The  Street." 

The  American  City  (magazine).  Every  issue  has  valuable  material  relating  to 
streets,  roads,  pavements,  public  utilities,  etc. 

Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  Community  Ciincs  and  Rural  Life,  pp.  248-257,  for  discussion  of 
country  roads. 

County  reports  relating  to  road  construction  and  improvement. 

Reports  of  State  Highway  Commission. 

State  management  of  public  roads.  Year  Book,  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
igi4,  pp.  211-226. 

Publications  of  Office  of  Public  Roads,  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Write 
also  to  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington, 
for  price  Ust  of  documents  relating  to  the  subject  of  roads. 

Farmers'  Bulletins  relating  to  marketing  and  transportation  facilities,  U.S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 


HIGHWAYS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  281 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  26,  Concentration  of  control  in  the  railroad  industry. 
Series  B:   Lesson  27,  Good  roads. 

Series  C:  Lesson  25,  A  seaport  as  a  center  of  concentration  of  population  and 
wealth. 
Lesson  27,  Early  transportation  in  the  Far  West. 
Lesson  28,  The  first  railway  across  the  continent. 
Consult  public  library  for  magazine  literature  on  the  subject  of  roads,  railroads, 
river  transportation,  etc.     For  example,  in  the  Review  oj  Reviews,  February, 
igiS,  there  are  the  following  articles: 
"Uncle  Sam  Takes  the  Railroads." 
"The  Worid's  Greatest  Port"  (New  York). 
"New  York  Canals  a  Transportation  Resource." 
"River  Navigation  —  a  War  Measure." 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  chap,  xxvii.    (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.) 


CHAPTER  XVI 

EARNING   A  LIVING 

"  There  is  a  sentimentality  which  would  make  it  appear  that  in 
some  millenial  day  man  will  not  work.  If  some  such  calamity 
ever  blights  us,  then  man  will  fail  and  fall  back.  God  is  wise. 
His  first  and  His  greatest  gift  to  man  was  the  obligation  cast  upott 
him  to  labor.  The  march  of  civilization  is  the  epic  of  man  as  a 
workingman  atid  that  is  the  reason  why  labor  must  be  held  high 
always." — Franklin  K.  Lane. 

The  most  conspicuous  activities  that  we  see  going  on  in  the 
community  are  usually  those  that  have  to  do  with  earning  a 
,.  .  .        living  or  the  production  of  wealth.^   Indeed,  some 

earning,  the  people  become  so  absorbed  in  the  business  of  earn- 
en  in  view  -^^^  ^  living  that  they  seem  to  be  living  to  earn 
rather  than  earning  to  live.  It  does  not  do  to  forget  that  not 
earning,  but  living,  is  the  real  end  in  view.  Unless  we  know  how 
to  use  what  we  earn  to  provide  properly  for  all  of  our  normal 
wants,  the  effort  we  spend  in  earning  is  very  largely  wasted. 

Nevertheless,  before  we  can  enjoy  a  living  it  has  to  be  earned, 
by  ourselves  or  by  some  one  else ;  and  the  activities  by  which  it 
is  earned  occupy  so  important  a  place  in  our  lives,  are  so  closely 
dependent  upon  the  community,  have  so  much  to  do  with  our 
citizenship,  and  receive  so  much  attention  from  government 

*  The  activities  by  which  we  earn  a  living  are  also  the  activities  by  which  wealth 
is  produced.  It  is  important  to  understand  that  when  we  speak  of  "wealth" 
we  do  not  necessarily  mean  great  wealth.  A  boy  who  has  a  fifty-cent  knife,  or  a  girl 
who  has  a  twenty-five-cent  purse,  has  wealth  as  truly  as  the  man  who  owns  a  well- 
stocked  farm.  The  difference  is  merely  in  kind  and  amount.  Food,  clothing,  houses, 
books,  tools,  are  all  forms  of  wealth.  Any  material  thing,  for  which  we  are  willing 
to  work  and  make  sacrifices  because  it  satisfies  our  wants,  is  wealth.  Earning  a  liv- 
ing is  merely  earning  or  producing  wealth  to  satisfy  our  wants  and  those  of  others. 

282 


EARNING  A  LIVING  283 

that  we  must  give  them  some  consideration  in  this  chapter  and 
several  chapters  following. 

While  young  people  are  spending  most  of  their  time  at  school 
or  at  play,    their  fathers  and  other  grown  people  are  usually 
chiefly  occupied  in  the  business  of  making  a  living  j^^^ 
or  "earning   money."  ^     Children  are,  as  a  rule,  of  vocational 
wholly   dependent   upon    their   parents   for    their 
living.     But  during  their  period  of  dependence  they  are  gaining 
skill  and  experience,  in  school  and  otherwise,  that  will  later 
enable  them  to  earn  their  own  living  and  that  of  other  people 
who  may,  in  turn,  become  dependent  upon  them. 

As  adult  life  approaches,  there  comes  an  increasing  desire 
for  independence  of  others,  to  have  possessions,  own  property, 
or  accumulate  wealth.  Our  vocations,  or  occupations,  by  which 
we  earn  a  livelihood,  come  to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  our 
thought,  and  to  a  large  extent  control  our  activity.  Doubtless 
most  of  those  who  read  this  chapter  have  begun  to  think  more 
or  less  seriously  about  what  they  are  going  to  do  for  a  living. 
Some  may  be  already  doing  so,  in  part,  or  helping  to  earn  that 
of  their  families;    but  most  boys  and  girls  have  more  or  less 

1  Gold  and  silver  and  paper  and  wood  are  forms  of  wealth.  Out  of  wood  we 
make  a  yardstick  or  a  peck  measure  with  which  to  measure  quantities  of  cloth  or 
grain.  In  a  similar  manner,  out  of  gold,  silver,  paper,  and  other  materials,  we  make 
money,  and  for  a  similar  reason,  namely,  to  measure  the  value  of  wealth.  When  we 
speak  of  a  fifty-cent  knife  and  a  twenty-five-cent  purse,  we  measure  the  value  of  these 
articles.  It  would  take  thousands  of  dollars  to  measure  the  value  of  a  large  business 
or  a  handsome  home. 

When  we  say  that  a  boy  earns  a  dollar,  or  that  a  man  earns  $4.00  a  day,  we 
measure  the  value  of  his  work  or  his  service.  A  man  may  make  a  direct  exchange  of 
his  services  for  something  he  needs  to  satisfy  his  wants,  as  when  he  works  for  his 
"board  and  lodging."  But  he  usually  receives  all  or  part  of  the  reward  for  his  serv- 
ices in  money,  because  with  the  money  he  can  buy  clothing  and  other  things  which 
his  employer  cannot  give  him.  Thus  money  becomes  something  more  than  a 
measure  of  wealth  or  of  services ;   it  is  also  a  means  of  exchanging  wealth  or  services. 

These  are  the  two  uses  of  money.  Money  has  value  only  because  of  what  it 
represents  in  wealth,  and  wealth  is  useful  because  it  enables  us.  to  satisfy  wants. 
These  things  are  mentioned  because  it  is  quite  important  that  we  should  never 
forget  that  "money"  and  "wealth"  are  worth  working  for  only  because  of  the 
"living,"  or  life,  that  they  help  us  to  attain. 


284 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


regularly  "earned  money,"  even  if  they  have  not  considered 
it  necessary  for  their  living.  An  inquiry  in  a  large,  iirst-year 
high  school  class  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  girls  of  the  class, 
quite  as  much  as  the  boys,  were  thinking  of  their  choice  of 
vocation.  More  avenues  are  open  to  girls  to-day  than  formerly 
by  which  to  earn  their  living  outside  of  the  family;  but  even 


'^)^ 


Helping  to  Earn  the  Family  Living 


the  management  of  a  home  is  a  business  as  truly  as  the  manage- 
ment of  a  factory  or  an  office,  and  is  an  exceedingly  important 
factor  in  the  earning  of  the  family  living  (see  pages  108-113). 

What  part,  if  any,  do  you  have  in  helping  to  earn  the  family  living? 

What  have  you  done  during  the  past  year  to  earn  money  (a)  out  of  school 
hours  on  school  days,  (b)  on  Saturdays,  (c)  in  vacation  time?  Tabulate  the 
results  for  the  entire  class. 

What  vocation  would  you  like  to  follow  for  life?     Why? 

If  you  have  not  decided  upon  some  one  vocation,  name  several  that  seem 
attractive  to  you.     Why  are  they  attractive? 

What  do  you  know  about  the  opportunities  and  the  qualifications  neces- 
sary for  success  in  the  vocations  you  have  named  ?  How  may  you  proceed 
to  find  out  more  about  them? 

What  vocations  offer  especial  opportunities  for  girls  and  women  to-day? 


EARNING  A  LIVING  285 

How  do  these  opportunities  compare  with  those  when  your  mothers  were 
girls? 

Make  a  Hst  of  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  (or  other  members  of  the 
famiUes)  of  the  members  of  your  class. 

Make  a  list  of  as  many  occupations  in  your  community  as  you  can  think  of. 

Our  dependence  upon  others  for  a  living  by  no  means  ends 
with  childhood.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  entirely  "self- 
made  man,"  by  which  is  meant  a  man  who  has  been  Dependence 
successful  entirely  by  his  own  efforts.  It  is  true  °^  *^^  pioneer 
that  the  primitive  hunter  and  the  pioneer  farmer  were  inde- 
pendent of  others  to  an  unusual  extent  (see  page  14).  But  their 
living  was  a  meager  one,  and  they  could  not  accumulate  much 
wealth.  The  very  land  that  a  pioneer  occupies,  even  though  it 
is  extensive  and  fertile,  has  little  value  as  long  as  it  is  remote 
from  centers  of  population. 

Even  if  a  pioneer  laid  claim  to  a  large  tract  of  land,  he  could 
produce  little  wealth  from  it  in  crops  if  he  could  get  no  help  to 
cultivate  it,  or  if  he  had  no  improved  machinery  (made  by 
others) ;  and  whatever  he  produced,  he  and  his  family  could 
eat  but  little  of  the  product.  He  could  feed  some  to  his  few 
animals,  and  he  would  save  some  for  seed ;  but  anything  that 
he  raised  above  what  he  could  actually  use  would  have  no  value 
unless  he  could  get  it  to  other  people  who  wanted  it.  If  he 
could  not  sell  what  he  produced,  neither  could  he  buy  what 
others  produced. 

Under  present-day  conditions,  a  farmer  who  raises  wheat 
probably  uses  none  of  it  himself.  He  sells  his  entire  crop  for 
the  use  of  others,  while  to  supply  himself  and  his  Dependence 
family  with  bread  he  goes  to  the  store  and  buys  of  the  modern 
flour  that  may  have  been  milled  in  Minnesota  from  *'"™®' 
wheat  raised  by  other  farmers,  perhaps  in  North  Dakota  or 
South  Dakota.  In  exchange  for  his  wheat  he  also  gets  clothing 
manufactured  in  New  York  or  New  England  from  cotton  raised 
in  Georgia  or  Texas,  or  from  wool  grown  in  Montana.     He  buys 


286 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


a  wagon  made  in  Indiana  from  lumber  cut  in  the  South  and 
iron  mined  in  Michigan  and  smelted  in  Ohio.  Thus  he  earns 
his  living  by  producing  food  for  other  people,  while  the  things 
he  uses  in  living  are  the  product  of  labor  expended  by  other 
people  in  the  effort  to  earn  their  living.  We  noticed  in  Chapter 
II  how  many  people  and  occupations  were  concerned  in  produc- 
ing a  pair  of  shoes  (page  20). 


Picking  Cotton  to  Clothe  the  World 


While  a  worker  may  be  interested  primarily  in  providing 
for  his  own  wants  and  those  of  his  family,  he  can  do  this  only 
Earning  by  by  producing  something  or  performing  service  for 
service  others ;   and  while  each  worker  may  be  most  con- 

cerned about  what  he  receives  for  his  work,  the  community 
is  most  concerned  about  what  he  produces.  Earning  a  living 
has  two  sides  to  it :  rendering  service  to  others  and  being  paid 
for  the  service  rendered.  It  is  as  if  the  community  entered 
into  a  sort  of  agreement  with  the  worker  to  the  effect  that  it 
will  provide  him  with  a  living  in  return  for  definite  service  to 


EARNING  A  LIVING 


287 


gsg^-^                                                               w 

^EMfn^aBI 

f   '■  '  ^ 

I^Si  i'  **■■!              t 

B«H~^                  ''.  AJ^a^^i^sSlKk  '^B/r    -..j^ 

^^,1 

gHBppi^^ll^^lHi^^^Br'-^IP^-'  ^^-i."  "wt?-    .-  ^'^^ 

I.  Logging 


2.  The  Cement  Age 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 

3.  Builders 

Some  Forms  of  Service 
Mural  decorations  in  High  School,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 


the  community  or  for  the  product  of  his  labor.  What  we  call 
''business"  is  selling  a  service.  It  may  be  personal  service,  such 
as  teaching,  or  prescribing  medicine,  or  nursing,  or  giving  legal 
advice,  or  cutting  hair,  or  driving  a  team,  or  running  an  auto- 
mobile.    Or  it  may  be  purchasing,  storing,  retailing,  and  deliver- 


288  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

ing  things  which  have  been  produced  perhaps  many  hundreds 
or  thousands  of  miles  away.  Or  it  may  be  raising  foodstuffs  on 
the  farm,  or  mining  fuels  and  metals  from  the  earth,  or  cutting 
timber  from  the  forest.  Or  it  may  be  manufacturing  —  buying 
materials  and  converting  them  into  products  serviceable  to 
others.  Whatever  it  is,  every  man's  business  is  also  the  com- 
munity's business,  and  the  community  has  a  right  to  expect 
industry  and  honest,  efhcient  work  from  every  worker. 

Discuss  the  occupations  named  in  answer  to  the  two  questions  on  page 
285,  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  service  to  the  community. 

To  what  extent  is  your  father's  business  or  occupation  dependent  upon 
the  business  or  occupation  of  the  fathers  of  other  members  of  the  class? 

Show  how  your  father's  business  is  also  the  community's  business. 

What  is  the  price  of  land  in  your  neighborhood  ?  Consult  your  father 
or  friends  in  regard  to  the  increase  or  decrease  in  price  in  recent  years  and 
the  reasons  for  it. 

There  are  exceptional  cases  where  people  receive  a  living  with- 
out earning  it.  One  class  of  such  people  is  represented  by 
Living  thieves,  gamblers,  swindlers,  and  persons  engaged 

without  in  occupations  that  are  positively  harmful  to  the 

earmng  community.     Such   people   may   be   very   skillful 

and  they  may  work  hard  enough,  but  they  take  what  others 
have  earned  without  producing  anything  of  value  to  the  com- 
munity. 

Then  there  are  those  who  are  incapable  of  productive  work 
because  of  physical  defects,  or  through  the  feebleness  of  old 
age.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  provide,  as  far  as  possible, 
during  his  productive  years,  for  the  "rainy  day"  of  misfortune 
or  advancing  age.  For  those  who  cannot  do  so,  the  commun- 
ity must  provide. 

Very  young  children  are  users  of  wealth  produced  by  others. 
It  is  expected,  however,  that  children  will  in  later  years  make 
return  to  the  community  for  what  they  have  received  during 
their  period  of  dependence. 


EARNING  A  LIVING  289 

Some  people  inherit  wealth,  or  otherwise  come  into  posses- 
sion of  it  without  effort  on  their  part.  The  wealth  so  received, 
however,  has  been  earned  by  some  one,  or  has  come  inherited 
from  the  community  in  some  way.  If  the  person  wealth 
who  so  receives  it  uses  it  in  a  way  that  is  highly  useful  to  the 
community,  he  may  in  a  sense  earn  it  even  after  he  receives  it ; 
but  if  he  uses  it  solely  for  his  own  enjoyment,  without  effort  to 
make  it  highly  useful  to  the  community,  he  does  not  in  any 
sense  earn  it,  and  places  himself  in  the  class  of  those  who  are 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  community. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  people  who  do  not  get  for  their 
work  a  living  that  fairly  compensates  them  for  the  service  they 
render  by  it  to  the  community.  If  our  com-  ^^^  . 
munity  life  were  perfectly  adjusted  in  all  its  parts ;  compensation 
if  all  the  people  clearly  recognized  their  common  ^°^  service 
interests  and  their  interdependence ;  if  they  had  the  spirit  of 
cooperation  and  were  wise  enough  to  devise  smoothly  working 
machinery  of  codperation ;  —  then  the  returns  that  a  worker 
received  for  his  work  would  be  closely  proportionate  to  the  serv- 
ice rendered  by  his  work.  That  is,  he  would  get  what  he  earned, 
so  far  as  wages  or  profits  were  concerned.  But  this  is  one  of 
the  particulars  in  which  our  community  life  is  still  imperfect. 
Where  so  many  different  kinds  of  workers  are  engaged  in  pro- 
ducing shoes,  for  example,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  determine 
how  much  each  should  be  paid  for  his  share  of  the  work.  What 
wages  should  be  given  to  the  different  classes  of  workers  who 
care  for  the  cattle,  make  the  leather,  manufacture  the  machines 
with  which  the  shoes  are  made,  operate  the  machines,  mine  the 
coal  and  iron  for  the  production  of  the  machines,  and  so  on? 
What  profits  shall  be  allowed  to  the  men  who  raise  the  cattle, 
to  the  merchants  who  sell  the  shoes  and  the  machines,  and  to 
the  transportation  companies  that  carry  them  from  the  fac- 
tories to  the  dealers?  What  interest  shall  be  received  by  the 
men  who  furnish  the  capital  necessary  to  run  the  factories  and 


290  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  farms?  These  questions  relating  to  the  distribution  of 
wealth  that  men  produce  have  proved  very  difficult  to  answer 
satisfactorily. 

A  very  useful  and  interesting,  but  rather  difl&cult,  science  has  grown  up 
to  explain  the  production,  distribution,  and  use  of  weatth.  It  is  called  the 
science  of  economics.  Of  all  the  divisions  of  this  science,  that  relating  to 
the  distribution  of  wealth  is  the  most  perplexing.  It  is  the  inequalities  in  the 
distribution  of  wealth,  the  sense  of  injustice  produced  by  these  inequalities, 
and  sometimes  a  failure  to  understand  what  a  fair  distribution  is,  that  have 
caused  most  of  the  labor  disputes  referred  to  in  Chapter  XVIII   (pages 

327,  337)- 

Have  you  ever  heard  any  one  say,  "The  world  owes  me  a  living"?  Is 
this  a  true  statement?     If  so,  in  what  sense  do  you  think  it  is  true? 

Which  do  you  think  is  the  truer  statement :  "I  have  a  right  to  a  living," 
or  "I  have  a  right  to  earn  a  living"?     Discuss  the  difference. 

A  thief  has  been  known  to  say,  "I  was  brought  into  the  world  without  my 
own  consent;  therefore  the  world  owes  me  a  living,  and  I  owe  the  world 
nothing."  Is  this  good  argument?  Did  the  people  upon  whom  he  de- 
pends for  a  living  have  any  more  to  say  about  their  being  brought  into  the 
world  than  he  had? 

What  things  are  you  using  to-day  that  were  not  provided  for  you  by 
others? 

If  a  stranger  should  come  to  your  community  to-day  to  live,  what  are 
some  of  the  things  that  he  would  find  already  provided  by  the  community 
for  his  use  in  making  a  living? 

Name  live  important  inventions  and  state  what  they  have  done  for 
you. 

Would  you  say  that  the  world  owes  Thomas  A.  Edison  and  Luther  Bur- 
bank  a  living?     Why? 

How  are  you  indebted  for  your  living  to  the  pioneers  who  settled  your 
state?  to  Robert  Fulton?  to  the  men  who  built  the  first  transcontinental 
railroad? 

Can  you  think  of  some  way  in  which  your  family  is  indebted  for  its  living 
to  the  British  nation?  to  France?  to  ancient  Greece?  to  the  Phoenicians? 
to  the  people  of  Brazil? 

Which  is  the  greater,  the  debt  of  your  family  to  the  world  or  the  debt 
of  the  world  to  your  family? 

What  is  a  "parasite"?  Could  this  term  be  appropriately  applied  to  any 
of  the  people  referred  to  in  the  last  few  paragraphs  of  the  text  above? 


EARNING  A  LIVING  201 

Each  citizen  has  a  right  to  feel  that  the  government  is  in- 
terested in  his  individual  prosperity  and  happiness;    and  it  is, 
for  unhappy  and  discontented  citizens  are  seldom  q 
good    citizens.     But    the    government    represents  interested  in 
the  community  as  a  whole,  and  has  the  interest  of  5''°^"'^*'°'^ 
the  community  as  a  whole  in  its  keeping  rather  than  the  in- 
terest of  particular  individuals.     Its  interest  is  primarily  in 
what  each  citizen  produces,  for  it  is  upon  this  that  the  strength 
of  the  nation  depends.  The 

A  few  days  after  war  was  declared  against  Ger-  "  national 

service 
many,  the  President  made  an  appeal  to  his  fellow  army  "  of 

countrymen,  in  which  he  said :  producers 

"It  is  evident  to  every  thinking  man  that  our  industries  on  the  farms,  in 
the  shipyards,  in  the  mines,  in  the  factories,  must  be  made  more  prolific 
and  more  efficient  than  ever  and  that  they  must  be  more  economically 
managed  and  better  adapted  to  the  particular  requirements  of  our  task  than 
they  have  been;  and  what  I  want  to  say  is  that  the  men  and  women  who 
devote  their  thought  and  their  energy  to  these  things  will  be  serving  the 
country  and  conducting  the  fight  for  peace  and  freedom  just  as  truly  and 
just  as  effectively  as  the  men  on  the  battlefield  or  in  the  trenches.  The 
industrial  forces  of  the  country,  men  and  women  alike,  will  be  a  great 
national,  a  great  international  Service  Army,  —  a  notable  and  honored  host 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  nation  and  the  world.  .  .  .  Thousands,  nay, 
hundreds  of  thousands,  of  men  otherwise  liable  to  military  service  will  of 
right  and  necessity  be  excused  from  that  service  and  assigned  to  the  funda- 
mental, sustaining  work  of  the  fields  and  factories  and  mines,  and  they  will 
be  as  much  part  of  the  great  patriotic  forces  of  the  nation  as  the  men  under 
fire." 

The  nation  needs  the  productive  work  of  each  citizen  in  time 
of  peace  as  truly  as  in  time  of  war,  although  when  it  is  not 
fighting  for  its  very  life  it  is  more  tolerant  of  those  who  do  not 
contribute  efficiently  by  their  work  to  the  common  good.  It 
carries  them  along  somehow.  But  such  members  of  the  com- 
munity are  a  burden  and  a  source  of  weakness  at  all  times. 
Therefore,  for  example,  there  are  in  most  of  our  communities  laws 
against  vagrancy;    that  is,  against  willful  and  habitual  idlers 


292  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

"without  visible  means  of  support,"  such  as  beggars  and 
tramps. 

There  are  times  when  many  men  are  "out  of  work."  In 
times  of  business  depression  the  number  may  become  very 
Problem  of  E^^^^y  while  in  prosperous  times  the  number 
the  unem-  dwindles ;  but  always  there  are  some.  It  is  often 
^  °^®  through  no  fault  of  their  own ;  it  is  another  result 

of  the  imperfect  adjustment  of  our  community  life.  It  often 
happens  that  while  large  numbers  of  men  are  unable  to  find  work 
in  industrial  centers,  the  farmers  may  be  suffering  for  want  of 
help.  This  may  be  merely  because  there  is  no  way  by  which 
to  let  workmen  know  where  they  are  needed,  or  of  distributing 
them  to  meet  the  need.  Or,  many  of  the  unemployed  may  be 
unskilled,  while  the  demand  is  for  skilled  workmen;  or  they 
may  be  skilled  in  one  line,  while  the  demand  is  in  another  line. 
Whatever  the  causes,  the  "problem  of  the  unemployed"  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  that  the  community  has  to  deal  with. 

Who  have  been  some  of  the  builders  of  your  own  community  by  reason 
of  their  business  life  ?     Explain. 

So  far  as  you  have  observed,  what  boys  have  been  most  successful  after 
leaving  school  —  those  who  make  it  a  practice  to  do  all  they  can  for  their 
employers,  or  those  who  have  tried  to  do  the  least  possible? 

Is  it  true  in  your  community  that  the  most  useful  citizens  are  those  who  care 
more  about  the  excellence  of  their  work  than  about  what  they  receive  for  it? 

Are  there  many  vagrants  in  your  community?  Are  there  laws  against 
vagrancy?    If  so,  what  are  they? 

Are  there  many  men  out  of  work  in  your  city  at  the  present  time?  If  so, 
are  they  chiefly  skilled  or  unskilled  workmen?  What  is  the  difference  be- 
tween a  skilled  and  an  unskilled  workman? 

Is  it  ever  diflicult  to  get  farm  labor  in  your  locality?  If  so,  how  do  the 
farmers  explain  it?     What  effect  does  it  have  on  your  city? 

Consult  your  father  as  to  the  reasons  for  unemployment  in  your  city. 
Compare  his  explanation  with  that  of  fathers  of  other  pupils,  and  make  list 
of  reasons  given. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  both  to  the  individual  and  to 
the  community  that  every  citizen  (i)  should  be  continuously 


EARNING  A  LIVING 


293 


employed  in  a  useful  occupation,  (2)  should  be  free  and  able 
to  choose  the  occupation  for  which  he  is  best  fitted,  and  in 
which  he  will  be  happiest,  and  (3)  should  be  thoroughly  efficient 
in  his  work,  whatever  it  is. 


The  Problem  of  the  Unemployed 
A  striker  and  his  family 

(i)  The  community  has  a  right  to  expect  every  citizen  to  be 
industrious  and  productive,  for  only  in  this  way  can  he   be 
self-sustaining  and  at  the  same  time  contribute  his 
share  to  the  well-being  of  the  community.     Doubt-  the  com- 
less  all  who  read  this  chapter  are  desirous  of  doing  munity  to 
useful  work.     At  the  same  time,  it  is  easy  for  any 
of  us  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  thinking  more   about  what  we 
can  get  than  about  what  we  can  give.     There  are  people  who 
habitually  seek  to  do  as  little  as  possible  for  what  they  can  get, 
or  to  get  all  they  can  for  the  least  possible  service.     This  ap- 


294  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

plies  not  only  to  idlers  who  live  entirely  off  the  community 
without  any  service  on  their  part,  but  also  to  those  who  have 
employment,  but  who  seek  to  evade,  by  "time-serving"  and 
otherwise  "slacking,"  the  full  responsibility  of  service.  We 
sometimes  hear  complaint  in  regard  to  public  ofhcials  who  draw 
good  salaries  without  rendering  adequate  or  honest  public 
service  in  return,  and  to  such  we  frequently  apply  the  term  of 
"gra//er."  But  the  principle  is  exactly  the  same  when  any 
person  who  has  undertaken  to  do  a  piece  of  work  fritters  away 
his  time  or  "loafs  on  the  job." 

After  all,  the  chief  return  that  we  get  for  our  work  is  not  the 
wages  or  the  profits,  important  as  they  are  to  us,  but  the  satis- 
Satisf action  faction  of  doing  something  that  is  worth  while, 
in  service  jf  j^j^jg  pleasure  is  absent  from  the  work  we  do,  no 

amount  of  money  returns  can  compensate  us  for  it. 

(2)  The  value  of  our  work  to  the  community  and  the  pleasure 
that  we  derive  from  it  both  depend  to  a  large  extent  upon  our 
Importance  fitness  for  it.  It  is  important  to  choose  our  work 
of  a  right  carefully.     There   are   four   important   considera- 

tions in  choosing  a  vocation :  (a)  its  usefulness  to 
the  community,  (b)  one's  own  fitness  for  it,  (c)  one's  happiness 
in  it,  and  (d)  whether  it  offers  an  adequate  living  to  one's  self 
and  dependents.  The  last  of  these  is,  of  course,  a  most  impor- 
tant consideration.  What  a  person  receives  for  his  work  ought 
to  be  determined  by  the  first  two  considerations,  i.e.  the  use- 
fulness of  the  work  to  the  community  and  one's  fitness  for  it. 
We  have  seen  that  this  is  not  always  true.  In  such  cases  it 
often  becomes  necessary  to  make  a  further  choice  —  a  choice 
between  working  primarily  for  one's  own  profit  and  working 
primarily  for  the  satisfaction  that  comes  from  important  service 
well  rendered.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  make  this  choice ;  but 
there  are  many  people  who  have  sacrificed  large  incomes  for 
the  sake  of  doing  work  that  the  community  needs  and  for  which 
they  consider  themselves  well  fitted, 


EARNING  A  LIVING  295 

Many  people  seem  to  have  little  choice  in  the  matter  of  voca- 
tion.    The  farmer's  boy  has  to  work  on  the  farm  whether  he 

wants  to  or  not ;    and  many  a  man  is  a  farmer    .    u  •       * 
'  -'  A  choice  of 

apparently  for  no  other  reason  than  that  he  was  vocation  is 
raised  on  the  farm  and  has  seen  no  opportunity  to  do  '°®^'*^  ® 
anything  else.  Other  people  seem  to  be  forced  into  other  occu- 
pations by  circumstances  or  drift  into  them  by  chance.  But 
even  in  these  cases  there  is  something  of  a  choice.  The  farmer's 
boy  "chooses"  to  remain  on  the  farm  rather  than  to  take  the 
chances  involved  in  running  away,  or  because  he  would  rather 
be  at  home  than  in  a  strange  city.  The  discontented  farmer 
might  have  chosen  to  be  a  lawyer  if  he  had  been  willing  to  make 
enough  sacrifices  to  get  ready  for  it ;  and  even  now  he  "  chooses  " 
to  remain  on  the  farm  in  spite  of  his  dislike  foi  it  because  to  do 
otherwise  would  mean  sacrifice  of  some  kind  or  other  that  he  is 
unwilling  to  make. 

The  pleasure  and  effectiveness  of  any  work,  however,  are 
increased  if  its  importance  to  the  community  or  to  the  world 
is  clearly  understood;  for  all  productive  work  is 
important.  There  is  no  more  terrible  work  than  gf  ou™wo"'k  ^ 
that  of  the  soldier  in  the  trenches.  No  man  would  to  the 
voluntarily  choose  it  for  his  own  pleasure.  But  '^°°^™"^  ^ 
millions  of  men  have  gone  into  it  joyfully  because  of  the  results 
to  be  attained  for  their  country  and  the  world.  Other  millions 
of  men  and  women,  and  even  children,  on  the  farms,  in  the  mines, 
in  the  shops,  and  in  the  homes,  worked  and  sacrificed  during 
the  war  with  Germany  as  they  had  never  worked  and  sacrificed 
before,  produced  results  such  as  had  never  been  produced  before, 
and  doubtless  experienced  a  satisfaction  in  their  toil  that  they 
never  experienced  before,  because  each  one  saw  more  definitely 
than  before  the  relation  of  his  work  to  the  great  national  and 
world  purpose.  An  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  our  work  in 
its  relation  to  community  welfare  goes  a  long  way  toward  "  trans- 
muting days  of  dreary  work  into  happier  lives"  (see  page  9). 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


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EARNING  A  LIVING  297 

The  opportunity  to  choose  one's  calling,  to  decide  what 
service  one  will  fit  himself  for,  the  right  of  "  self-determination" 
with  regard  to  what  one's  work  shall  be  —  this  is  Freedom 
what  "freedom"  means.  This  is  why  men  are  equality, 
happier  when  they  are  free.  The  "equality"  and  *°  jus  ice 
"justice"  that  all  men  want  mean  equality  of  opportunity  to 
choose  that  which  they  like  to  do,  and  an  equal  chance  to  make  a 
living,  or  to  obtain  compensation  for  their  labor  or  enterprise. 
It  is  for  these  things  more  than  for  anything  else  that  people 
have  left  old-world  conditions  and  come  to  America.  The 
ability  to  make  a  living  under  conditions  of  freedom  and  justice 
depends  in  part  upon  the  common  wants  of  the  community, 
and  upon  the  willingness  of  members  of  the  community  to  pay 
for  the  satisfaction  of  their  wants  enough  to  enable  those  who 
perform  service  for  them  also  to  satisfy  theirs.  But  it  also 
depends  upon  the  ability  of  the  individual  to  make  a  choice, 
and  upon  his  willingness  to  spend  years  in  preparation,  if  need 
be,  to  enable  him  to  offer  a  service  of  the  kind  he  likes  to  render 
and  for  which  others  are  glad  to  pay  well. 

We  are  living  in  a  day  of  specialists.  The  very  nature  of  our 
interdependent  life  makes  it  necessary  for  each  worker  to  do 
one  thing  and  to  do  it  exceedingly  well.  More-  a  day  of 
over,  since  the  worker  must  be  a  specialist,  requiring  specialists 
long,  special  training,  it  is  more  difficult  than  it  used  to  be  for 
him  to  change  from  one  occupation  to  another  after  he  has  once 
started.  Each  person,  therefore,  owes  it  both  to  himself  and 
to  the  community  to  choose  his  vocation  carefully,  so  far  as  he 
has  opportunity  to  make  a  choice.  The  schools  are  more  and 
more  making  it  their  business  to  give  boys  and  girls  the  knowl- 
edge and  the  experience  that  will  enable  them  to  choose  wisely 
their  mode  of  earning  a  living. 

(3)  Whether  a  citizen  follows  a  vocation  of  his  own  voluntary 
choice,  or  one  into  which  he  has  fallen  by  chance  or  by  force  of 
circumstances,  he  is   under  obligation  to   the  community  as 


298  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

well  as  to  himself  to  do  his  work  well.  In  these  days  of  special- 
ization this  inevitably  means  preparation,  training.  If  the  com- 
The  necessity  rnunity  expects  the  citizen  to  perform  efficient 
for  training  service,  it  must  afford  him  a  fair  opportunity 
for  preparation. 

As  in  the  choice  of  a  vocation,  so  in  preparation  for  it  the 
individual  has  his  share  of  responsibility.  It  is  always  a  tempta- 
Hasty  en-  ^^^^  ^°^  young  people  to  get  out  into  the  active  work 
trance  upon  of  the  world  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  The 
voca  ion  e  ^jggjj-g  ^^  ^^  independent,  to  earn  one's  own  living, 
to  "make  money,"  is  strong.  It  leads  many  boys  and  girls  to 
leave  school  even  before  they  have  finished  their  elementary 
education.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases  this  results  in  serious 
economic  loss  both  to  the  boy  or  girl  and  to  the  community. 
The  charts  on  page  296  furnish  evidence  of  this. 

We  call  it  patriotism  when  a  man  gives  aU  that  he  has,  even 
his  life  if  necessary,  for  the  good  of  his  country,  without  stopping 
Patriotism  in  to  consider  whether  or  not  he  will  receive  an  equal 
vocational  life  benefit  in  return.  There  is  no  higher  type  of 
patriotism  than  that  which  prompts  a  citizen  to  perform  his 
best  service  for  the  community  in  his  daily  calling,  not  for  what 
he  can  get  for  it,  but  for  what  he  can  give.  This  patriotism  is 
shared  by  the  young  citizen  who  is  willing  to  defer  an  apparent 
immediate  gain  to  himself  in  order  to  prepare  himself  thoroughly 
for  more  effective  service  later. 

If  your  father  had  his  life  to  live  over  again,  would  he  choose  the  same 
vocation  that  he  is  now  following?     Consult  him  as  to  his  reasons. 

Take  the  list  of  occupations  represented  by  the  parents  of  the  members  of 
your  class,  or  a  list  of  occupations  represented  by  the  residents  of  your 
block,  and  study  them  with  respect  to  the  amount  of  preparation  or  training 
needed  for  each. 

Make  a  study  of  the  extent  to  which  specialization  is  necessary  in  the 
industries  of  your  town. 

Does  your  school  offer  any  vocational  training  or  vocational  guidance? 

Is  there  a  tendency  in  your  school  for  boys  and  girls  to  quit  before  com- 


EARNING  A  LIVING  299 

pleting  the  course?  At  what  grades  do  pupils  begin  to  drop  out  in  con- 
siderable numbers?  Why  do  they  leave?  What  sort  of  work  do  they  do 
when  they  leave  school? 

At  what  age  does  the  law  in  your  state  permit  boys  and  girls  to  go  to 
work?  Show  how  this  restriction  of  freedom  now  increases  freedom  later 
on  (see  page  297). 

"Education  tends  to  make  people  free."  Discuss  this  proposition  in 
the  light  of  what  is  said  on  page  297.  Does  a  high  school  graduate  enjoy  a 
greater  degree  of  freedom  than  a  person  who  never  went  to  high  school? 

Discuss  the  meaning  of  "freedom,"  "equality,"  "justice,"  as  explained 
on  page  297. 

Discuss  the  proposition  that  "  the  chief  return  we  get  for  our  work  is  the 
satisfaction  of  doing  something  worth  while." 

What  does  the  "right  of  self-determination"  mean  in  its  application  (a) 
to  an  mdividual,  {b)  to  a  nation? 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Commtmily  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  3,  The  cooperation  of  specialists  in  modern  society. 

Lesson  s,  The  human  resources  of  a  community. 

Lesson  7,  Organization. 

Lesson  8,  The  rise  of  machine  industry. 

Lesson  9,  Social  control.  i 

Lesson  10,  Indirect  costs. 

Lesson  11,  Education  as  encouraged  by  industry. 

Lesson  23,  The  services  of  money. 

Lesson  28,  The  worker  in  our  society. 
Series  B  :  Lesson    8,  Finding  a  job. 

Lesson  11,  The  work  of  women. 

Lesson  28,  Women  in  industry. 
Series  C :  Lesson  9,  Inventions. 

Lesson  11,  The  effects  of  machinery  on  rural  life. 

Lesson  21,  Before  coins  were  made. 

Lesson  22,  The  minting  of  coins. 

Lesson  23,  Paper  money. 

Lesson  24,  Money  in  the  community  and  the  home. 

Lesson  29,  Child  labor. 
Vocational  Guidance    in    Secondary  Education.      Bulletin,   1918,  No.   19,  U.S. 

Bureau  of  Education. 
Business    Education    in   Secondary   Education.      Bulletin,   1919,   No.   ss,   U.S. 

Bureau  of  Education. 
Work  of  School  Children  in  Out-of-school  Hours.      Bulletin,  191 7,  No.  20,  U.S- 
Bureau  of  Education. 


300  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Frank  A.  Vanderlip,  "Service  Leads  to  Success,"  pp.  347-348. 

Charles  M.  Schwab,  "Opportunity  is  Plentiful  in  America,"  pp.  348-350. 
Tufts,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  viii-x ;   xv-xxviii. 
The  following  books  relating  to  vocational  life  are  helpful: 

Gowin  and  Wheatley,  Occupations  (Ginn  &  Co.). 

Giles,  Vocational  Civics  (Macmillan). 

Gulick,  The  Efficient  Life  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 

Reid  and  others.  Careers  for  the  Coming  Men  (Saalfield  Pub.  Co.,  Akron,  Ohio). 

Marden,  Choosing  a  Career  (Bobbs-Merrill,  Indianapolis). 

Harden,  Talks  with  Great  Workers  (Thos.  Y.  Crowell). 

Bok,  Successward  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 

Williams,  How  It  Is  Made,  How  It  Is  Done,  How  It  Works  (Thos.  Nelson  &  Sons). 

Fowler,  Starting  in  Life  (Little,  Brown  &  Co.). 

Parsons,  Choosing  a  Vocation  (Houghton  MifBin  &  Co.). 

Carnegie,  The  Empire  of  Business  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THRIFT 

"  Thrift  is  good  management  of  the  business  of  livitig." 

This   definition   is    taken   from    "Ten   Lessons   in   Thrift," 
issued   by    the   Treasury   Department    of    the    United   States 
Government     (February,     19 19).       The     United  j^ationil 
States    government    sent    out    these    lessons    be-  importance 
cause  "America  to-day  stands  in  the  position  in 
which   all   her   economic   problems   must    be   solved    through 
thrift.  ,  .  .  Unless  our  people  gain  a  deep,  sincere  apprecia- 
tion  of    the   absolute    necessity   for    thrift,    we    cannot   hope 
to  hold  the  proud  position  we  occupy  as  the  flag  bearer  of 
nations.  .  .  ."  ^ 

The  great  war  taught  us  some  lessons  about  the  importance 
of  thrift  to  the  nation.  The  enormous  expenses  of  the  war 
were  paid  and  the  armies  and  the  civilian  popula-  Lessons  of 
tions  of  the  countries  at  war  were  fed  very  largely  *^®  ^^ 
by  the  combined  small  savings  of  our  people.  Nearly  20  million 
people  contributed  to  the  fourth  liberty  loan,  by  which  almost 
seven  billion  dollars  were  raised,  an  average  of  about  $350  for 
each  contributor.  Almost  every  one  bought  war  savings 
stamps,  by  which  about  a  billion  dollars  were  raised  in  191 8. 
Practically  all  this  money  came  from  savings.  Enormous  sums 
were  also  given  to  the  Red  Cross  and  other  causes.  To  do  this 
people  saved  and  sacrificed  "until  it  hurt."  The  provisioning 
of  our  armies  and  of  the  needy  peoples  of  Europe  was  made 

1  S.  W.  Strauss,  President  American  Society  for  Thrift,  in  "The  Patriotism  of 
War  Savings"  (National  Education  Association  pamphlet,  Thrift,  1918). 

301 


302 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


possible  by  the  saving,  in  American  homes,  of  slices  of  bread, 
of  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar,  of  small  portions  of  meat  and  fats. 

Thrift,  however,  is  not  merely  a  war  necessity.  "The  time 
when  thrift  shall  not  be  needed  —  needed  as  vitally  as  food 
Thrift  as  itself  —  will    never    come.  .  .  ,     Through    thrift 

patriotism  alone  can  the  rebuilding  come  —  the  rebuilding  of 
America  —  the  rebuilding  of  the  world.  .  .  .  Thrift  is  patriot- 
ism because  it  is  the  elimination  of  every  element  that  tends 
to  retard.  .  .  -"^ 


■^-%- 1^ 


Billboard  at  Trenton,  N.J. 


Thrift  is  necessary  both  for  individual  success  and  for  good 
citizenship.  It  is  only  by  thrift  that  the  individual  may  in 
some  measure  repay  others  for  the  care  he  himself  received 
during  dependent  childhood,  and  provide,  during  his  productive 
years,  for  the  ''rainy  day"  of  sickness  and  old  age.  It  is  by 
thrift  that  capital  is  accumulated  with  which  to  carry  on  the 
world's  work  (see  page  315).  The  citizen  who  saves  and  invests 
his  savings  in  a  home,  in  business  enterprises,  in  bonds  or  savings 
stamps,  not  only  makes  his  own  future  secure,  but  becomes 
identified  with  the  community  and  takes  a  greater  interest  in  it 

15.  W.  Strauss,  "The  Patriotism  of  War  Savings." 


THRIFT  303 

(see  pages  113-114).  The  thrifty  citizen  inspires  the  confi- 
dence of  the  community,  and  acquires  an  influence  in  com- 
munity aflFairs  that  the  unthrifty  citizen  does  not  enjoy.  Thrift 
is  often  confused  with  stinginess  and  selfishness.  On  the  con- 
trary it  alone  makes  generosity  and  service  possible. 

"Thrift  is  the  very  essence  of  democracy."     For  democracy 
means  freedom,  equality  of  opportunity,  "self-determination." 
No  man  is  a  greater  slave  than  one  who  is  bound  J^^J.■^f^  ^j^g 
and  driven  by  financial  necessity.     By  thrift  the  "  essence  of 
mind  is  "unfettered  by  the  petty  annoyances  that     ^™°"^*^y 
result  from  improvident  ways."     Thrift  means  providing  for 
the  future.     There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  will  so  establish 
one's  faith  in  the  future  and  that  will,  therefore,  give  that  free- 
dom of  spirit  upon  which  democracy  depends,  as  the  wise  use 
of  to-day  and  of  to-day's  resources. 

"Every  man  must  practice  thrift  and  every  man  must  have 
the  chance  of  practicing  it."  It  is  a  right  as  well  as  a  duty. 
Before  the  war  it  was  said  that  four  fifths  of  the  „.  ..^      .  .  ^ 

Thrift  a  right 
wage  earners  of  our  country  received  less  than  as  well  as 

$750  a  year  for  their  labor.  Studies  in  various  "  ^ 
cities  also  showed  that  an  average  family  of  five  could  not 
maintain  health  and  efficiency  on  an  income  of  less  than  from 
$750  to  $1,000.  Under  such  circumstances  thrift  is  the  strictest 
necessity,  but  it  is  a  thrift  that  means  pinching  economy  and  the 
sacrifice  of  health  and  efficiency.  It  is  not  the  thrift  that  pro- 
vides for  the  future  and  gives  freedom  to  the  individual,  the 
thrift  that  is  "the  essence  of  democracy  itself."  Every  man 
should  have  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  "living  wage,"  which  in- 
cludes an  opportunity  to  provide  for  the  future.  Democracy 
is  not  complete  until  that  opportunity  is  afforded. 

Thrift,  or  the  good  management  of  the  business  of  living, 
is  shown  (i)  in  earning,  (2)  in  spending,  (3)  in  saving,  and  (4)  in 
investing. 


304 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


An  Unsightly  Vacant  City  Lot  Made  Profitable 

AND  BeAUTLFUL 


THRIFT  305 

(i)  Since  the  earning  of  a  living  was  the  subject  of  Chapter 
XVI,  we  need  not  dwell  upon  it  now  except  to  note  that  a  thrifty 
person  is  an  industrious  person  —  he  makes  wise  Thrift  in 
use  of  his  time ;  and  also  to  note  that  many  of  those  earning 
who  are  now  in  want,  or  who,  in  advanced  years,  are  receiving 
small  wages,  owe  their  condition  to  a  failure  at  some  time  or 
other  to  make  use  of  the  opportunity  for  thrift.  Many  people 
do  not  recognize  the  opportunity  when  it  is  presented,  or  lack 
the  wisdom  or  the  courage  to  seize  it.  Thrift  involves  making 
a  choice,  and  in  many  cases  a  wise  choice  requires  courage  as 
well  as  wisdom.  It  is  a  choice  between  the  satisfaction  of 
present  wants  and  the  sacrifice  of  present  enjoyment  for  the 
sake  of  greater  satisfaction  and  service  in  the  future. 

When  a  boy  in  school  has  a  chance  to  take  a  job  that  will 
pay  him  wages,  he  has  to  make  a  choice  between  it  and  remain- 
ing in  school.  It  may  seem  to  be  the  thrifty  thing  to  go  to  work ; 
but  real  thrift  is  shown  by  careful  choice  of  vocation,  and  by 
thorough  preparation  for  it,  even  though  it  requires  sacrifices 
that  seem  dif^Eicult  (see  pages  295,  297). 

(2)  After  money  has  been   earned,  thrift  shows  itself  first 
of  all  in  the  way  the  money  is  spent ;  and  many  of  us  have  the 
spending  of  the  money  that  some  one  else  has  Thrift  in 
earned.     Every  time  we  spend  a  nickel  or  a  dollar  spending 
we  make  a  choice  — ■  we  choose  to  spend  or  not  to  spend,  how 
much  we  shall  spend,  for  what  we  shall  spend. 

A  lawyer  in  a  small  town  reports  that  in  one  month  he  made 
out  the  necessary  papers  to  enable  75  men  to  mortgage  their 
homes  to  buy  automobiles. 

One  reason,  perhaps,  for  extravagance  in  food  and  clothing 
on  the  part  of  unintelligent  people  who  find  themselves  unusually 
prosperous,  is  that  they  see  no  better  way  to  spend  their  money. 
Those  who  find  pleasure  in  books,  in  education  for  their  children, 
in  travel,  in  investing  money  in  productive  and  serviceable 
enterprises,  and  in   the  higher  things  of  life,  have  to   make 


3o6 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  Woolworth  Building,  New  York  City  x 

The  tallest  building,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  in  the  United  States.   It  was 
built  ^y  a  naan  whose  fortune  was  made  from  the  profits  of  "5  and  10  cent  stores." 


THRIFT  307 

a  choice  in  regard  to  what  they  shall  enjoy,  and  as  a  rule  prefer  to 
sacrifice  the  grosser  pleasures. 

People,  and  especially  young  people,  need  a  certain  amount  of 
sweets  in  their  diet.  But  when  we  know  that  the  candy  bill 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  amounts  to  choosing 
$400,000,000  a  year,  that  this  is  almost  as  much  ^^^*  ^^  spend 
as  the  total  amount  spent  for  public  education,  that  it  is  about 
double  the  amount  used  to  keep  Belgium  supplied  with  food  for  a 
year  during  the  war,  or  that  it  will  buy  400  million  bushels  of 
corn  at  $1.00  a  bushel,  we  may  well  think  twice  before  deciding 
to  spend  much  money  for  candy. 

The  few  cents'  difference  in  the  price  of  two  articles  between 
which  we  must  choose,  and  the  nickels  we  spend  for  immediate 
enjoyment,  may  seem  to  amount  to  very  little;  but  the  New 
York  City  street  railways  collected  in  a  year  $95,000,000  in 
five-cent  fares,  and  the  Woolworth  Building  in  New  York,  one 
of  the  largest  ofiice  buildings  in  the  United  States,  was  built 
from  the  profits  of  "5  and  10  cent  stores."  One  thrift  stamp 
a  week  amounts  in  five  years  to  $65,  and  14  cents  a  day  at  4 
per  cent  interest  amounts  in  twenty  years  to  more  than  $1500. 

In  one  of  the  "Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift,"  the  following 
"  tests  in  buying"  are  given :  Tests  for 

Do  I  need  it?  Spending 

Do  I  need  it  now? 

Do  I  need  something  else  more? 

Will  it  pay  for  itself  in  the  end  ? 

Do  I  help  or  injure  the  community  in  buying  this? 

Do  you  have  instruction  in  your  school  in  home  economics  that  relates 
to  wise  spending  or  buying? 

If  you  do  not  have  such  instruction,  write  to  your  state  agricultural  col- 
lege, or  to  the  States  Relations  Service,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Wash- 
ington, D.C.,  for  circulars  or  bulletins  relating  to  thrift  in  buying  food, 
clothing,  etc. 

In  writing  for  such  material,  why  is  it  an  example  of  thrift  to  ask  for 
one  copy  of  each  publication  for  your  class  or  for  your  school,  rather  than  to 
ask  for  a  copy  for  each  pupil? 


3o8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

In  what  ways  is  thrift  shown  by  having  a  class  committee  write  one 
letter  making  the  request  for  the  class  instead  of  having  each  member  of 
the  class  write? 

Who  in  your  family  makes  most  of  the  expenditures  for  the  family  living? 

For  what  items  in  the  family  living  is  most  of  the  money  spent? 

What  are  some  of  the  things  that  have  to  be  considered  in  buying  food? 
clothing?  house  furnishings?  books?  amusements? 

Make  a  study  at  the  grocery  of  the  relative  prices  of  articles  bought  in 
small  and  large  quantities :  for  example,  laundry  soap  by  the  bar,  by  the 
quarter's  worth,  by  the  box;  canned  goods  by  the  can,  by  the  dozen,  and 
by  the  case;  flour  by  the  pound,  by  the  2S-pound  sack,  50-pound  sack,  by 
the  barrel;  etc. 

Make  a  study  of  the  relative  prices  of  articles  in  bulk  and  in  package; 
for  example,  vinegar  by  the  bottle  and  by  the  gallon ;  bacon  in  bulk  and  in 
jars,  etc. 

Why  may  it  be  economy  to  buy  some  food  articles  in  packages  rather 
than  in  bulk,  even  at  a  higher  price  ?     Give  examples. 

Which  is  likely  to  be  more  economical,  to  buy  groceries  by  telephone  or 
in  person?     To  buy  by  mail  order  or  at  the  store  in  town?     Why? 

At  Christmas  time  the  Park  View  community  center  in  Washington, 
D.C.,  ordered  140  turkeys  from  a  rural  neighborhood  center  in  Maryland. 
The  turkeys  were  brought  by  the  producers  to  the  schoolhouse  of  the  rural 
neighborhood,  taken  by  a  postal  service  motor-truck  to  the  schoolhouse  of 
the  Park  View  center  in  Washington,  and  from  there  distributed  to  the 
140  families.  The  city  buyers  paid  an  average  of  15  cents  a  pound  less 
than  the  price  prevailing  in  the  Washington  markets,  and  the  producers 
received  6  cents  a  pound  more  than  the  Washington  markets  were  paying. 

Why  was  there  a  saving  to  both  producer  and  consumer  in  the  above 
case?     What  costs  of  marketing  were  cut  out  or  reduced? 

What  is  the  "middleman"?  Does  he  perform  a  real  service  to  the 
community?  Should  he  be  paid  for  his  service?  Why?  Is  it  just  that 
the  middleman  should  be  "eliminated"  by  cooperative  marketing  and 
buying  organizations?     Why? 

Is  there  any  cooperative  buying  organization  in  your  community?  If 
so,  how  has  it  benefited  the  community?  If  not,  why?  (Consult  your 
parents  and  others.) 

Get  publications  from  your  state  agricultural  college  relating  to  co- 
operative buying  and  selling. 

Wise  expenditures  depend  not  only  upon  knowledge  of  prices 
and  qualities,  but  also  upon  good  management,  as  in  planning 


THRIFT  309 

ahead.  One  plan  that  has  been  the  means  of  Hf  ting  many  individ- 
uals and  families  out  of  financial  difficulties  and  of  enabling 
them  to  lay  by  as  savings  a  portion  of  their  income,  Thrift  in 
however  small  the  latter  may  be,  is  the  budget,  management 
which  means  the  apportionment  of  expenditures  according  to  a 
plan  laid  out  in  advance.  No  budget  can  apply  to  all  families 
alike,  but  the  following  illustrates  the  principle : 

House  (rent,  taxes,  insurance,  repairs) 25% 

Food  (all  expenditures  for  the  table,  ice,  etc.) 30% 

Clothing  (materials  and  making,  repairing,  cleaning,  press- 
ing, millinery,  shoes) 13% 

Housekeeping  (labor  and  materials  for  laundry,  fuel  and 

light,  telephone,  supplies,  and  furnishings) 12% 

Educational  (school  and  school  books,  club  dues,  church 
and  charity  contributions,  gifts,  books,  magazines,  news- 
papers, amusements,  medical  and  dental  treatment)  .     .         6% 

Luxuries  (all  items  not  necessaries  and  not  coming  under 

"educational,"  such  as  candies,  etc.) 4% 

Savings ^°% 

Total 100% 

Before  a  budget  can  be  planned,  and  in  order  to  know  whether 
it  is  being  lived  up  to,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  accounts  of  re- 
ceipts and  expenditures.  With  such  accounts,  it  is  possible  to 
determine  where  savings  can  be  made  under  some  heads  and 
where,  perhaps,  it  is  necessary  or  advisable  to  spend  more. 

Is  a  budget  used  in  your  home?  Find  out  from  your  parents  their  reason 
for  using,  or  not  using  it. 

Could  you  use  a  budget  in  your  own  personal  affairs? 

Find  out  whether  a  budget  system  is  used  by  your  local  government 
and  your  state  government  in  apportioning  expenditures. 

How  may  we  "budget"  our  time?  Is  the  time  you  spend  in  school 
"budgeted"?     Make  a  daily  time  budget  for  yourself. 

When  is  clothing  a  necessity  and  when  a  luxury?  • 

When  is  food  a  necessity  and  when  an  amusement? 

When  is  amusement  education  and  when  a  frivolity? 

When  are  club  dues  education  and  when  amusement? 

iThis  and  the  following  topics  are  adapted  from  "Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift." 


3IO 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


When  is  vacation  health  and  when  amusement? 
"When  is  the  theater  amusement  and  when  indulgence? 
When  is  rent  a  necessity  and  when  an  extravagance? 


A 

IOO% 

Home 

7th  Step 

Analyze 
Accounts 

6th  Step 

Adopt 
Accurate  Accounts 

5th  Step 

Build  a  Budget 

4th  Step 

Make  Practice 
Follow  Precept 

2d  St 

3d  Step 

Estimate  Expenses 

ep 

Consider  Cost 

I  St  Step 

Know  Needs 

Seven  Steps  Toward  Saving  ^ 

(3)  The  object  of  thrift  in  spending  is  both  to  get  the  greatest 
value  for  our  money  now  and  to  insure  savings  that  will  provide 
Thrift  in  for   the   future.     Every   budget   should   make   as 

saving  definite  provision  for  savings  as  for  rent  or  clothing. 

The  purpose  of  a  budget  and  of  accounts  is  to  assure  a  surplus 
rather  than  a  deficit.  Successful  men  and  women  make  it  a 
practice  always  to  spend  less  than  they  earn,  no  matter  how 
little  they  earn,  and  they  cannot  be  sure  of  this  without  planning 
ahead  and  keeping  accounts.  Saving  in  this  way  is  largely  a 
matter  of  habit ;  but  it  is  astonishing  how  many  fail  to  form  the 
habit.  Court  records  show  that  out  of  every  100  men  who  die, 
82  leave  no  income-producing  estates,  or  that  about  85  per  cent 

iFrom  "Suggestions  for  Home  Demonstration  Agents  regarding  Methods  of 
Teaching  Thrift,"  States  Relations  Service  Circular,  Dec.  27,  igi8. 


THRIFT  311 

who  reach  the  age  of  65  are  dependent  upon  relatives  or  upon 
the  community.  "Out  of  every  100  widows,  only  18  are  left 
in  comfortable  circumstances,  while  47  are  obliged  to  go  to  work 
and  35  are  left  in  absolute  want."  ^ 

Wise  buying  means  saving  money ;  and  so  does  the  wise  use 
of  what  we  buy.  It  is  said  that  an  American  ship  can  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  ships  of  other  nations  in  harbor  American 
by  the  flocks  of  gulls  that  hover  around  to  feast  on  extravagance 
the  food  thrown  overboard.  Whether  this  is  true  or  not, 
Americans  have  a  reputation  for  wastefulness.  It  has  been 
called  our  chief  national  sin.  It  is  said  that  a  family  in  France 
can  live  in  comfort  on  what  an  American  family  in  the  same 
circumstances  ordinarily  throws  away.  An  average  load  of 
garbage  in  New  York  City  has  been  shown  to  contain  fifty 
dollars'  worth  of  good  food  materials.  Investigations  by  the 
Food  Administration  showed  that  there  is  enough  glycerine  in  a 
ton  of  garbage  to  make  explosives  for  14  shells,  enough  fat  and 
acid  to  ma.ke  75  bars  of  soap,  and  enough  fertilizer  to  grow  8 
bushels  of  wheat.  It  is  said  that  24  cities  wasted  enough  garbage 
to  make  4  million  pounds  of  nitroglycerine,  40  million  cakes  of 
soap,  and  fertilizer  for  3  million  bushels  of  wheat.  On  the 
other  hand  300  cities  produced  52  million  pounds  of  pork  by 
feeding  their  garbage  to  hogs. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  has  shown  that  the  waste  of 
a  half-cup  of  milk  daily  by  each  of  the  20  million  families  in 
the  United  States  would  equal  in  a  year  the  total  ^j^^^  g^^^jj 
production  of  400  thousand  cows ;   that  one  ounce   savings 
of  meat  or  fat  saved  daily  would  in  a  year  mean 
875  thousand  steers,  or  a  million  hogs ;   and  that  if  81  per  cent 
of  the  whole  wheat  were  used  in  bread  instead  of  75  per  cent,  the 
savings  in  a  year  would  feed  12  million  people.      During  the  war 
our  government  organized  a  campaign  for  the  salvage  of  "junk," 

1  S.  W.  Strauss,  "The  Greater  Thrift,"  National  Education  Association  Proceed- 
ings, 1916,  p.  278. 


312 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Salvaging  Waste  Paper 


THRIFT  313 

and  the  total  amount  collected  had  a  value  of  i^  billion  dollars. 
The  school  children  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  are  reported  to  have 
gathered  and  sold  two  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  waste  paper  in 
one  week,  and  those  of  many  other  communities  obtained  similar 
results. 

Every  successful  business  man  is  constantly  vigilant  to  dis- 
cover and  remedy  waste  in  his  business  —  waste  of  materials, 
time,  and  effort.  Many  of  the  most  valuable  value  of 
products  in  certain  industries  are  "by-products,"  by-products 
—  that  is,  products  produced  as  an  incident  to  the  main  industry 
and  from  materials  that  otherwise  would  have  been  wasted. 
In  the  manufacture  of  gas  from  coa  ,  for  example,  important 
by-products  are  coke,  tar,  and  ammonia.  There  has  been  great 
waste  in  the  lumber  industry,  but  now  practically  every  scrap 
from  the  tree  may  be  used.  In  the  Forestry  Products  Lab- 
oratory at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  a  process  has  been  dis- 
covered of  producing  from  15  to  25  gallons  of  wood  alcohol 
from  a  ton  of  sawdust  —  and  sawdust  has  many  othei  uses. 
These  are  only  illustrations.  Scientists  and  inventors,  many 
of  them  employed  by  the  government,  are  constantly  at  work 
finding  uses  for  waste  products. 

The  following  topics  from  publications  of  the  State  Relations 
Service  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  are  suggestive : 

Preventing  loss  of  food  in  the  home : 

Suitable  food  storage  places  and  equipment. 

Essentials  of  a  good  refrigerator. 

The  care  of  winter  vegetables  and  fruit. 

The  care  of  perishable  vegetables  and  fruit. 

Prevention  of  spoilage  of  milk,  meat,  and  fish. 

Preservation  of  eggs. 

Care  of  bread  and  other  baked  products. 

What  should  not  go  into  the  garbage  pail. 

Good  cooking  and  attractive  serving. 

Failure  to  use  perishable  food  promptly. 

Failure  to  use  left-overs  completely. 


314  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Failure  to  use  all  food  materials  (fats,  vegetable-tops,  meat  and  fish 
bones,  etc.). 

Leaving  small  portions  of  food  in  mixing  and  cooking  dishes. 

Lack  of  accurate  measuring  and  mixing,  so  that  food  is  not  palat- 
able. 

Allowing  food  to  become  scorched  or  otherwise  spoiled  in  prepara- 
tion. 

Providing  over-generous  portions  in  serving. 

Failure  to  eat  all  food  served. 
Preventing  loss  of  food  in  the  market : 

Sanitary  display  cases  for  food. 

Prevention  of  "sampling"  and  handling  of  food. 

Food  protection  in  food  carts  and  delivery  wagons. 

Proper  care  of  milk. 

Proper  care  of  meat  and  fish. 

Prevention  of  cereal  products  from  deterioration. 

Protection  of  fruits  and  vegetables. 

The  care  of  bread  and  bakery  products. 

Careful  selection  of  food. 
Following  are  special  points  which  might  be  discussed : 

The  well-planned  house. 

Saving  steps  by  better  arrangement  of  equipment. 

Lessening  work  by  systematizing  it. 

Menu-planning  for  lessened  work  in  preparation. 

Household  lighting. 

Labor-saving  equipment  in  the  laundry,  the  kitchen,  and  the  sewing 
room. 

Labor-saving  devices  for  house  cleaning. 

Leading  a  simple  life. 

(4)  Thrift  involves  a  wise  use  of  savings.  They  may  be 
invested  in  a  home,  a  wise  use  because  of  the  satisfaction 
Thrift  in  that  a  home  produces.     If  the  home  is  well  located, 

investment  ^gH  built,  and  well  kept  up,  it  will  probably  also 
increase  in  money  value.  Savings  may  be  invested  in  machinery 
for  farming,  manufacturing,  or  mining ;  in  a  stock  of  goods  to  be 
sold  at  a  profit ;  in  houses  or  ofi&ce  buildings  to  be  rented  to 
others;  or  they  may  be  lent  to  others  who  pay  interest  for 
their  use.     In  all  these  cases  money  represents  capital — -capital 


THRIFT 


315 


being  the  machinery  or  tools  and  other  equipment  with  which 
wealth  is  produced. 

Capital  is  brought  into  existence  in  only  one  way  —  that  is,  by  consuming 
less  than  is  produced.  If  one  has  a  dollar  one  can  spend  it  either  for  an 
article  of  consumption,  say  confectionery,  or  for  an  article  of  production, 
say  a  spade.  He  who  buys  a  spade  becomes  a  capitalist  to  the  amount  of 
a  dollar  —  that  is,  he  becomes  the  owner  of  tools.  The  process  is  precisely 
the  same  whether  the  amount  in  question  is  a  dollar  or  a  million  dollars.^ 


At  the  Bank 


Every   business   requires   capital,   some   more   than   others. 
The  necessary  capital  must  either  be  saved  by  the    Borrowing 
person  who  wants  to  use  it,  or  it  must  be  borrowed  from  others 
who  have  saved  it. 

The  advantage  of  borrowing  is  that  one  does  not  have  to  wait  so  long 
to  get  possession  of  the  tools  and  equipment.  One  can  get  them  at  once 
and  make  them  produce  the  means  of  paying  for  themselves.  Without 
them  the  farmer's  production  might  be  so  low  as  to  make  it  difficult  ever 

1  T.  N.  Carver,  "How  to  Use  Farm  Credit,"  Farmers'  Bulletin  593,  U.S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  p.  2, 


3l6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

to  accumulate  enough  with  which  to  buy  them.  With  their  help  he  may 
be  able  to  pay  for  them  — ■  that  is,  to  pay  off  the  debt  — •  in  a  shorter  time 
than  it  would  take  to  accumulate  the  purchase  price  without  them.  That 
is  the  oniy  advantage  of  credit  in  any  business,  but  it  is  a  great  advantage 
to  those  who  know  how  to  use  it.^ 

Credit  is  simply  a  person's  ability  to  borrow  and  depends  upon 
the  confidence  that  others  place  in  him.  This  confidence 
depends  on  his  reputation  for  honesty  and  his 
known  ability  to  repay.  A  man,  as  a  rule,  has 
to  have  something  —  land  or  property  of  other  kind  —  that  he 
can  offer  as  security  before  he  can  borrow  much.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  thrift  is  essential  to  a  man's  credit  —  thrift  and 
honesty. 

There  is  no  magic  about  credit.  It  is  a  powerful  agency  for  good  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  know  how  to  use  it.  So  is  a  buzz  saw.  They  are 
about  equally  dangerous  in  the  hands  of  those  who  do  not  understand 
them.  .  .  .  Many  a  [man]  would  be  better  off  to-day  if  he  had  never  had 
a  chance  to  borrow  money  at  all,  or  go  into  debt  for  the  things  which  he 
bought.  However,  there  is  no  reason  why  those  .  .  .  who  do  know  how 
to  use  credit  should  not  have  it. 

Shortsighted  people,  however,  who  do  not  realize  how  inexorably  the 
time  of  payment  arrives,  who  do  not  know  how  rapidly  tools  wear  out  and 
have  to  be  replaced,  or  do  not  keep  accounts  in  order  that  they  may  tell 
exactly  where  they  stand  financially,  will  do  well  to  avoid  borrowing. 
Debts  have  to  be  paid  with  deadly  certainty,  and  they  who  do  not  have 
the  wherewithal  when  the  day  of  reckoning  arrives  become  bankrupt  with 
equal  certainty. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  nothing  disgraceful  in  borrowing  for  productive 
purposes.  The  feeling  that  it  is  not  quite  respectable  to  go  into  debt  hac 
grown  out  of  the  old  habit  of  borrowing  to  pay  living  expenses.  That 
was  regarded,  perhaps  rightly,  as  a  sign  of  incompetency.  .  .  .  But  to 
borrow  for  a  genuinely  productive  purpose,  for  a  purpose  that  will  bring 
you  in  more  than  enough  to  pay  off  your  debt,  principle  and  interest,  is  a 
profitable  enterprise.  It  shows  business  sagacity  and  courage,  and  is  not 
a  thing  to  be  ashamed  of.  But  it  cannot  be  too  much  emphasized  that  the 
would-be  borrower  must  calculate  very  carefully  and  be  sure  that  it  is  a 
productive  enterprise  before  he  goes  into  debt.^ 

*  T.  N.  Carver,  "How  to  Use  Farm  Credit,"  p.  2. 


THRIFT  317 

Much  of  the  capital  used  in  business  is  borrowed,  and  is 
made  up  of  small  savings.     The  enormous  capital  of  railroads, 
for  example,  is  derived  chiefly  from  the  savings  of 
millions  of  people,  some  of  whom  buy  shares  of  rail-  jn  the 
road  stock  directly,  but  most  of  whom  deposit  their  nation's 

business 

savings  in  banks  or  other  institutions  which,  in 
turn,  lend  it  to  the  railroads  or  invest  it  in  their  stock.  The 
school  boy  or  girl  who  has  a  savings  account  in  a  bank  thus 
may  become  a  partner  in  various  business  enterprises  of  the 
country.  Their  dollars  or  dimes,  added  to  the  dollars  and  dimes 
of  many  other  people,  are  used  to  buy  machinery  and  tools  and 
materials,  and  to  pay  labor.  Because  of  the  service  performed 
by  their  savings  they  receive  interest  on  their  money. 

The  savings  bank  is  always  on  hand  for  the  use  of  those  who 
live  in  cities.  Its  business  is  conducted  in  accordance  with  state 
or  national  laws  for  the  protection  of  the  depositor  against  loss  of 
his  money.  School  savings  hanks  have  been  organized  in  many 
schools,  the  pupils  depositing  small  amounts  regularly  with  their 
teacher,  or  with  one  of  their  own  number  who  acts  as  "bank 
teller."  The  total  amount  so  deposited  is  then  taken  to  a  bank 
in  the  community,  thus  bringing  into  use  in  the  world's  work 
many  small  sums  of  money  that  would  otherwise  be  lying  idle 
or  spent  unwisely.  The  school  bank  not  only  promotes  habits  of 
thrift,  but  may  also  afford  excellent  training  in  business  methods 
of  accounting. 

In    1 9 10   Congress    established    the    Postal    Savings  System 
under  which  any  post  office  may  act  as  a  savings  bank.     Any 
person  over  ten  years  of  age  may  deposit  money  postal 
at  the  postal  savings  bank  in  amounts  of  from   Savings 
$i.c»o   to   $25.00,   receiving  from   the   postmaster     ^^  ^^ 
postal  savings  certificates  as  evidence  of  the  deposit.     Provision 
is  made  for  savings  accounts  of  less  than  a  dollar  by  selling 
postal  savings  stamps  at  ten  cents  each,  ten  of  which  may  be 
deposited  in  exchange  for  a  dollar  certificate.     Two  per  cent 


3i8 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


interest  is  paid  on  postal  savings,  but  savings  certificates  may 
be  exchanged  for  postal  savings  bonds,  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  2^  per  cent.  The  rate  of  interest  paid  by  a  postal  savings 
bank  is  lower  than  that  paid  by  an  ordinary  savings  bank,  but 
many  people  prefer  to  accept  the  smaller  rate  of  interest  because 
of  their  greater  confidence  in  the  government ;   that  is,  the  credit 


r'B 

■^      v^^^R. 

11 

>;    *           

Hi 

s'lji^'l^ 

^ 

SZ 

^jJT'  ''! 

'^W 

.   '              4. 

A  School  Bank  in  Operation 


of  the  government  is  better  than  that  of  private  individuals  or 
agencies.  The  foreign-born  population  of  the  United  States 
makes  wide  use  of  the  postal  savings  banks,  not  only  because  of 
their  convenience,  but  also  because  of  faith  in  the  government 
which  operates  the  post  ofiices. 

The  purchase  of  Liberty  Bonds  or  Savings  Stamps  and  Thrift 
Stamps  is  a  good  investment  and  a  patriotic  act.     The  money 
,.  raised  in  this  way  is  used  for  the  national  defense 

to  the  and  for  reconstruction  after  the  war.     The  Savings 

government  Division  of  the  United  States  Treasury  Depart- 
ment carries  on  a  campaign  of  thrift  education.     Among  other 


THRIFT 


319 


things,  it  promotes  the  organization  of  savings  societies  and 
thrift  clubs,  because  thrift  is  a  habit  which  is  encouraged  by 
the  example  and  cooperation  of  others.  In  Randolph  County, 
Indiana,  for  example,  each  consolidated  school  has  its  thrift 
club,  and  over  75  per  cent  of  the  pupils  are  members.     One  of 


*«* 


y,  ,-^m''m>' 


State  Thrift  Congress  of  Ohio  School  Pupils 
Held  in  the  Chamber  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  State  House,  Columbus,  O. 
Each  county  in  the  state  sent  a  representative  to  this  Congress  from  the  school 
making  the  best  thrift  record.  Each  representative  sat  in  the  seat  usually  occupied 
by  his  county's  representative  in  the  legislature.  Thrift  subjects  were  discussed  and 
appropriate  resolutions  passed.  The  lieutenant-governor  of  the  state  is  presiding 
at  this  session. 

these  schools  sold  over  $11,000  worth  of  thrift  stamps,  and 
others  sold  from  $1,500  to  $3,500  worth.  Savings  societies 
exist  among  the  workmen  of  many  industries,  and  employers 
report  that  these  have  increased  the  purchase  of  homes,  and  have 
resulted  in  a  saving  of  materials  and  tools  because  of  the  habits 
of  thrift  established. 

Among  many  other  agencies  that  promote  thrift    we  shall 
only   mention   building   and   loan   associations   and    insurance. 


320  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

A  person  of  small  means  may  buy  shares  of  stock  in  a  building 
and  loan  association,  paying  for  them  in  small  monthly  pay- 
Insurance  ments.  The  association  pays  interest  on  the 
money  so  deposited.  When  the  shareholder  has  a  sufficient 
amount  to  his  credit,  he  may  borrow  from  the  association  for 
purposes  of  home-building.  Such  associations  have  therefore 
not  only  promoted  thrift,  but  have  also  encouraged  the  building 
of  homes  by  people  of  sm.all  means.  Insurance  affords  a  partic- 
ularly good  illustration  of  organized  cooperation.  The  pre- 
miums paid  by  thousands  of  policy  holders  produce  a  large 
sum  of  money,  part  of  which  goes  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
insurance  company,  but  most  of  which  is  invested  in  enterprises 
that  cause  the  amount  rapidly  to  increase.  Out  of  this  fund  the 
occasional  losses  of  individuals  are  paid.  Life  insurance  is  a  good 
form  of  investment.  It  provides  for  the  future  of  the  family  of 
the  insured  in  case  of  his  death.  By  the  endowment  plan  the 
insured  may  himself  receive,  at  the  end  of  a  specified  number  of 
years,  all  that  he  has  paid  in  premiums  together  with  interest. 
Young  people  may  frequently  find  opportunity  to  invest 
savings  directly  in  productive  business  enterprises  of  their  own. 
It  may  be  that  such  opportunities  are  less  abundant  in  large 
cities  than  in  smaller  places.  In  rural  communities  boys'  and 
girls'  clul)s  have  become  quite  common  —  such  as  pig  clubs, 
poultry  clubs,  corn  clubs,  canning  clubs,  and  the  like.  Such  clubs 
are  promoted  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
and  by  state  agricultural  colleges.  When  a  boy  (or  a  girl)  invests 
a  little  money  in  a  pig,  or  a  calf,  or  garden  tools,  he  becomes  a 
capitalist  to  that  extent.  Many  city  boys  and  girls  have  culti- 
vated gardens  in  back  yards  or  on  vacant  lots  that  have  yielded 
a  good  profit  on  the  investment  in  seeds,  tools,  etc.  Many  a 
successful  business  man  has  laid  the  foundation  of  his  business 
success  while  still  a  boy,  first  by  saving,  and  then  by  investing 
his  savings  in  some  small  business,  such  as,  for  example,  the 
purchase  of  a  newspaper  route. 


THRIFT 


321 


As  we  proceed  with  our  study  we  shall  encounter  other 
aspects  of  thrift  in  various  chapters.  As  a  nation  we  may  be 
thrifty  or  unthrifty  in  the  use  of  our  resources  (see  Chapter  XX). 
Thrift  is  as  essential  in  our  "community  housekeeping,"  which 
is  carried  on  by  government,  as  in  our  homes  and  business.  But 
we  can  hardly  expect  thrift  to  become  a  national  characteristic 
unless  it  first  becomes  a  personal  habit. 


Good  Returns  on  the  Investment 
Boys'  Club  and  leader  examining  a  good  litter  of  pigs 


Are  you  a  capitalist  ?     If  so,  explain  in  what  way. 

What  business  enterprises  do  you  know  of  that  are  engaged  in  by  boys 
and  girls,  and  that  require  the  use  of  capital? 

What  forms  does  the  capital  take  with  which  your  father  does  business? 

What  capital  does  an  Eskimo  have?  the  American  Indians  when  the 
country  was  first  settled  ? 

Do  you  belong  to  a  thrift  club?  Would  it  be  desirable  to  organize  one 
in  your  school?  Confer  with  your  teacher  and  principal  about  it.  Write 
to  the  Savings  Division,  U.S.  Treasury  Department,  Washington,  D.C.,  for 
literature  regarding  organization. 


32  2  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Is  there  a  credit  union,  or  a  savings  association,  or  other  organization 
to  promote  thrift  in  your  community?     If  so,  find  out  how  it  operates. 

Write  a  story  on  the  subject,  "What  my  five  dollars  may  accomplish 
after  I  put  it  in  the  savings  bank,  before  it  comes  back  to  me  with  interest." 

If  there  is  a  building  and  loan  association  in  your  community,  investigate 
its  methods  of  doing  business.     Consult  your  parents. 

READINGS 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  A  :  Lesson    6,  Capital. 

Lesson  13,  United  States  Food  Administration. 
Lesson  14,  Substitute  foods. 
Lesson  15,  Woman  as  the  family  purchaser. 
Lesson  21,  Borrowing  capital  for  modern  business. 
Lesson  22,  The  commercial  bank  and  modern  business. 
Series  B  :  Lesson    7,  An  intelligently  selected  diet. 
Lesson  22,  Financing  the  war. 
Lesson  23,  Thrift  and  war  savings. 
Series  C  :  Lesson    7,  Preserving  foods. 

Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Fuel  Administration. 
Lesson  16,  The  Commercial  Economy  Board  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense. 
Write   Savings  Division,   U.S.   Treasury  Department,  for  materials;    especially 
"Ten  Lessons  in  Thrift,"  and  "Teaching  Thrift  in  Elementary  Schools."     Both  of 
these  contain  lists  of  readings. 

The  Post  OfBce  Department  has  publications  descriptive  of  the  postal  savings 
service. 

School  Savings  Banks.     Bulletin,  1Q14,  No.  46,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Farmers'  Bulletins,  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  relating  to  thrift. 
See  references  in  footnotes  in  this  chapter. 

Dunn,  The  Community  and  the  Citizen,  chap,  xiv,  "Waste  and  Saving." 
The  local  public  library,  the  State  Library,  and  the  State  Agricuhural   College 
will  doubtless  furnish  lists  of  references  and  perhaps  provide  materials. 
The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  will  send  list  of  references. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY 

It  was  suggested  on  page  75  that  conflict  is  often  more 
apparent  than  team  work  in  community  hfe.  There  is  no 
denying  the  fact  that  economic  or  business  success  The  struggle 
involves  a  struggle,  and  that  earning  a  living  is  ^°^  ^  ^vmg 
often  httle  other  than  a  "struggle  for  existence."  We  read 
on  page  303  that  four  fifths  of  the  wage  earners  in  the  United 
States  received,  before  the  recent  war,  less 'than  $750  a  year 
for  their  labor,  an  amount  that  represents  a  hard  struggle  for 
existence,  especially  for  those  who  have  families  to  support. 
"In  a  single  year,  in  this  civilized  country  of  ours,  five  times  as 
many  people  were  killed  in  industry  as  fell  on  both  sides  at  the 
great  three  days'  battle  of  Gettysburg.  ,  .  .  The  injured 
victims  of  our  industrial  system  number  considerably  more 
than  a  million  every  year."  ^  Poverty,  disease,  crime,  and  vice 
are  among  the  products  or  by-products  of  the  conflict.  It 
has  broken  up  families  (see  page  128),  and  forced  women  and 
children  into  it  for  the  support  of  their  families,  even  as  they 
entered  the  trenches  in  Russia  in  the  dark  days  of  the  war. 

It  is  true  that  those  who  suffer  from  the  conflict  are  often  the 
victims  of  their  own  incompetence  (see  page  305).     The  casual- 
ties from  industrial  accidents  are  often   due   to  conflict  due 
sheer    ignorance    or    carelessness.     Poverty    may  to  lack  of 
result  from  a  lack  of  thrift,  or  from  an  unwise  ^^^^°°^ 
choice  of  vocation  or  lack  of  training  for  it.     But  the  respon- 
sibility for  these  things  goes  back  largely  to  the  fact  that  there 

1  Ashley,  The  New  Civics,  p.  37Q. 
323 


324 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


is  strife  where  there  ought  to  be  team  work,  or  that  team  work 
is  very  imperfectly  developed.  Sometimes  selfishness,  greed, 
or  the  love  of  power  leads  individuals  to  prey  upon  others 
very  much  as  the  highwayman  would  do.  But  as  a  rule,  the 
conflict  is  due  to  a  lack  of  vision  on  the  part  of  the  contending 
groups  that  would  enable  them  to  see  their  great  common 
interests  above  their  narrower  group  interests. 


A  Groxip  of  Friendly  Competitors 


We  give  the  name  competition  to  one  form  of  this  conflict. 
Every  boy  or  girl  who  goes  out  into  the  world  to  earn  a  living 
has  to  compete  with  others  for  positions,  just  as  in 
ompe  ion  g^j^^^j  ^^^^y  j^^y  compete  for  places  on  athletic 
teams.  Workmen  in  the  same  trade  compete  for  the  jobs  that 
the  community  has  to  offer,  grocers  for  the  trade  of  the  com- 
munity, railroads  for  traffic  between  the  same  two  points. 
This  competition  may  become  intense,  at  times,  as  when  there 
are  more  grocers  than  the  community  needs  to  supply  it  with 
food,  or  more  workmen  than  there  are  jobs.     If  there  are  more 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  325 

jobs  than  there  are  workmen,  then  employers  compete  for  the 
workmen  who  are  available. 

The  competition  of  two  grocers  for  neighborhood  trade  may  take  a  form 
that  is  injurious  to  the  community,  and  that  may  ultimately  destroy  one 
or  both  of  themselves.  If  one  of  them,  intent  on  driving  out  his  rival,  begins 
to  cut  prices,  and  the  other  retaliates,  the  community  may  at  first  gain  some 
benefit  from  the  competition.  But  if,  in  order  to  keep  alive,  one  or  both 
of  them  should  begin  to  sell  inferior  goods,  or  to  give  short  measure,  or  to 
render  poor  service  in  other  ways,  not  only  will  the  community  suffer,  but 
one  or  both  of  the  grocers  will  probably  be  ruined  in  the  long  run.  The 
competition  may,  however,  take  another,  more  far-sighted  form.  Each 
may  set  out  to  make  his  service  to  the  community  better  than  that  of  the 
other,  offering  the  best  goods  at  fair  prices,  delivering  promptly,  keeping 
the  store  clean  and  attractive,  accommodating  customers  in  every  reasonable 
way.  In  this  case  the  community  is  benefited,  and  the  chances  are  that 
the  business  of  each  will  prosper ;  or,  if  one  is  left  behind  in  the  race,  it  is 
for  the  just  reason  that  he  is  the  poorer  servant  of  the  community. 

Is  competition  in  school  for  athletic  positions,  or  for  scholarship  rank, 
a  good  thing  ?     Why  ? 

Give  examples  of  what  you  would  consider  sportsmanlike  and  unsports- 
manlike competition  in  school  affairs. 

Sometimes  a  person  holding  a  position,  like  that  of  a  foreman,  may  refuse 
to  help  those  working  with  him  or  under  him  for  fear  that  one  of  them  may 
'get  his  job."  Is  this  sportsmanlike  or  fair?  Why?  What  does  it  show 
\^ith  respect  to  the  competence  of  the  person?  Is  a  really  competent  person 
afraid  of  fair  competition? 

Do  boys  and  girls  who  seek  jobs  after  leaving  school  meet  with  much 
competition  in  your  community?  For  whom  do  the  business  men  of  the 
community  compete  most  keenly,  those  who  have  finished  their  education, 
or  those  who  have  left  school  before  completing  the  course  ? 

Is  there  keen  competition  among  workmen  for  jobs,  or  among  employers 
for  workmen,  in  your  community  at  the  present  time  ?  How  does  this  com- 
petition show  itself?  Is  the  competition  greater  for  skilled  or  unskilled 
workmen  in  your  community?     Bring  in  facts  to  prove  your  answer. 

In  what  industries  in  your  community  is  there  the  keenest  competition 
for  workmen,  or  for  jobs  ? 

Is  there  keen  competition  among  merchants  of  your  community  ?  Among 
what  kinds  of  merchants  is  it  keenest?     How  does  it  show  itself? 

What  can  you  say  about  competition  in  the  professions  in  your  city  ? 


326 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Which  tends  to  secure  the  better  service  to  the  community — com- 
petition among  many  persons  for  a  few  positions,  or  competition  among 
employers  for  a  few  people  to  fill  their  positions?     Why? 

Is  it  desirable  to  have  competing  telephone  systems  in  one  city?  Com- 
peting street  railway  lines?  Competing  steam  railroads  connecting  your 
city  with  other  cities?     Why,  in  each  case? 


A  Protest  Against  High  Prices 

Competition  among  workmen  for  jobs  tends  to  bring  wages 
down,  to  the  direct  disadvantage  of  the  workmen.  But  as  the 
Income  and  reduction  in  wages  lessens  the  employers'  cost  of 
cost  of  living  producing  goods,  it  tends  to  reduce  the  prices  of 
the  goods,  which  is  an  advantage  to  the  community,  including 
the  workmen  themselves,  who  are  consumers  of  goods  as  well 
as  producers.  Thus  a  reduction  in  money  wages  is  not  neces- 
sarily a  disadvantage  to  the  workmen,  provided  the  cost  of 
living  is  also  reduced.  On  the  other  hand,  competition  among 
employers  for  workmen  tends  to  raise  the  wages,  to  the  direct 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  327 

advantage  of  the  workmen.  But  since  this  increase  in  wages 
also  increases  the  cost  of  producing  the  goods,  it  is  a  disadvan- 
tage to  the  employer,  unless  he  increases  the  price  of  the  goods, 
thus  increasing  the  cost  of  living.  Thus  there  tends  to  be  a 
balancing  of  wages  or  other  income  with  the  cost  of  living. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  when  wages  go  down  the  employers 
may  keep  prices  up  to  where  they  were  before,  thus  securing 
a  larger  profit,  while  consumers  bear  the  loss.  Domination  of 
Or  when  wages  go  up  because  of  a  scarcity  of  labor,  self-interest 
employers  may  take  advantage  of  it  to  raise  prices  more  than 
enough  to  cover  the  increased  cost  of  production,  again  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  consumer.  This  is  a  form  of  profiteering. 
On  the  other  hand,  workmen  may  take  advantage  of  the  fact 
that  they  are  in  great  demand,  and  not  only  secure  higher 
wages,  and  perhaps  shorter  hours  of  work,  but  also  do  less  work, 
or  poorer  work,  during  the  hours  when  they  are  employed,  to 
the  disadvantage  of  their  employers  and  of  the  consumers  of 
the  goods  produced.  In  either  case,  the  employer  or  the  work- 
man is  dominated  by  self-interest  rather  than  by  mutual  interest 
or  the  common  interest  of  the  community. 

The  most  serious  conflict  in   community  life  to-day  is  that 

between    the    employer    and    the    wage    earner,  —  those    who 

furnish  the  labor  and  those  who  furnish  the  capital   Conflict  be- 

for  the  production  of  the  wealth  that  satisfies  our  ^^^^  ^*se 
^  earner  and 

wants.  A  study  made  before  the  war  showed  that  employer 
approximately  three  fifths  of  all  the  property  in  the  United 
States  was  owned  by  two  per  cent  of  the  population,  while 
sixty-five  per  cent  of  the  population  had  no  property  what- 
ever. Such  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  wealth  has  nour- 
ished a  sense  of  injustice  among  those  who  furnish  the  labor. 
Moreover,  they  lay  the  responsibility  for  low  wages,  long  hours 
of  work,  the  employment  of  women  and  children  in  industry, 
frequent  periods  of  unemployment,  ill  health  and  injury  result- 
ing from  unsafe  conditions  of  work,  poverty,  wretched  home 


328 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


conditions,  at  the  door  of  an  industrial  system  which  seems  to 
them  to  have  been  built  up  primarily  to  safeguard  the  prof- 
its of  the  comparatively  few  who  furnish  the  capital.  The 
result  has  been  a  long  and  bitter  struggle  for  the  allotment 
of  a  larger  share  of  the  proceeds  of  industry  to  those  who 
furnish  the  labor. 


A  Household  Industry  in  the  Mountains  of  the  South 


The  problems  involved  in  this  conflict  between  the  employing  and  wage- 
earning  groups  are  among  the  most  difficult  to  understand  and  to  deal  with 
that  the  civilized  nations  have  to  face ;  altogether  too  difficult  to  be  fully 
explained  in  this  place.  But  our  study  up  to  this  time  should  enable  us  to 
appreciate  the  broad  underlying  cause  of  the  difficulty,  and  should  put  us 
in  a  proper  frame  of  mind  to  consider  the  facts  involved  in  the  problem  as 
they  come  to  our  notice.  There  is  need  for  this,  because  this  great  economic 
struggle  is  so  intense  that  prejudice  and  anger  and  suffering  and  fear  often 
interfere  with  straight  thinking  and  calm  judgment  on  the  part  of  those 
concerned  in  it  (see  page  22). 

The  conflict  between  capital  and  labor  need  never  have 
occurred  if  both  parties  to  it  had  always  been  wise  enough  to 
see  that  they  are  in  reality  partners  in  an  enterprise  for  the  com- 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  329 

mon  good,  and  to  have  acted  in  accordance  with  this  fact.  Each 
has  something  to  contribute  to  the  enterprise  that  the  other 
does  not  have  and  cannot  get  along  without.  The  capitalis- 
Capital,  as  we  have  seen  (page  315),  consists  tic  system 
of  the  tools  and  equipment  which  labor  uses.  It  is  acquired  by 
saving  (page  314).  Many  people  earn  their  living  by  occupa- 
tions that  require  so  little  capital  that  they  can  furnish  it  them- 
selves from  their  own  savings,  as  in  the  case  of  the  newsboy, 
the  fruit  peddler,  the  small  merchant,  the  cobbler,  the  dress- 
maker, and  the  like.  In  the  days  when  weaving,  shoemaking, 
cabinetmaking,  and  many  other  industries  were  carried  on  in 
the  home  or  in  small  shops  by  hand  processes,  it  was  quite  the 
usual  thing  for  the  workman  to  furnish  his  own  capital.  When 
the  invention  of  machinery  and  the  steam  engine  resulted  in 
the  factory  system  of  industry,  a  new  situation  was  created. 
The  establishment  and  operation  of  large  industrial  plants  and 
business  enterprises  required  more  capital  than  the  workman 
could  furnish.  It  had  to  be  drawn  from  those  members  of  the 
community  who  had  accumulated  large  savings,  and  who 
therefore  came  to  be  known  as  capitalists.  The  system  of 
industrial  organization  which  resulted  is  known  as  the  capital- 
istic system,  or  capitalism. 

Those  who  put  their  money  into  a  factory  or  business  not  un- 
naturally considered  that  they  owned  it,  and  that,  therefore, 
theyhad  a  right  to  control  it.  They  not  only  bought  ^^^  capital- 
the  land,  buildings,  machinery,  and  materials,  but  ists  gained 
also  the  labor  required,  paying  for  it  in  wages.  ^°^  ^° 
Another  reason  why  the  control  of  industry  passed  into  the  hands 
of  capitalists  was  because  the  management  of  a  great  industry 
or  business  requires  a  high  degree  of  intelligence,  and  education  in 
those  days  was  limited  to  the  well-to-do.  In  fact,  the  intelli- 
gence and  skill  necessary  for  the  management  of  a  great  industry 
are  so  great  that  specially  trained  managers  had  to  be  sought ; 
but  these  also  were  employed  by  the  capitalists,  or  "owners." 


330  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  trouble  began  when  the  capitahsts  assumed  that  because 
they  "owned"  the  business,  through  having  put  their  money 
Failure  to  into  it,  the  business  existed  solely  for  their  own 

recognize  profit,  Overlooking  the  interest  of  their  partners 

terests  who  furnish  the  labor,  and  even  that  of  the  com- 

munity as  a  whole,  which  has  a  decided  interest  in  the  business 
(see  page  286).  The  capitalist  is,  of  course,  entitled  to  a  profit 
as  a  recompense  for  the  use  of  his  capital.  If  there  were  no  ex- 
pectation of  financial  reward,  one  of  the  strongest  inducements 
for  the  investment  of  capital  in  business  would  be  removed. 
But  profit  gained  at  the  sacrifice  of  others'  interests  is  not  just. 
It  is  not  meant,  of  course,  to  suggest  that  employers  of  labor  are 
always  unmindful  of  its  interests  or  those  of  the  community ; 
but  it  has  been  true  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  arouse  bitter 
hostility  to  the  capitalistic  system.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
defending  and  promoting  their  own  interests,  those  who  furnish 
the  labor  have  not  always  been  mindful  of  the  interests  of 
those  who  furnish  the  capital,  nor  of  the  interests  of  the 
community  which  both  serve. 

Capitalists  have  an  advantage  in  conflict  with  labor  for 
various  reasons.  It  requires  capital,  or  savings,  to  carry  on 
Advantage  the  Struggle.  This  is  shown  especially  at  times 
ganized  °^'  when  open  conflict  occurs,  as  in  a  strike,  for  those 
capital  who  have  the  most  savings  can  endure  longest  the 

cessation  of  industry.  They  are  better  able,  also,  at  all  times, 
to  carry  on  propaganda  (see  page  248)  to  win  public  support. 
The  capitalist  group  has  also  had,  as  a  rule,  the  best  leadership, 
for  the  ablest  men  tend  to  rise  out  of  the  ranks  of  labor  into 
those  of  capital.  Moreover,  capital  has  long  been  thoroughly 
organized  for  effective  cooperation,  while  labor  has  only  recently 
effected  such  organization. 

Nearly  all  big  business  is  carried  on  by  corporations.  A 
corporation  is  a  group  of  people  associated  together  by  a  legal 
procedure  to  carry  on  a  business  or  other  enterprise.     A  number 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  331 

of  people  may  be  "incorporated"  as  a  social  club,  as  a  philan- 
thropic association,  or  as  a  college.  A  business  corporation  is 
an  association  of  capitalists  to  conduct  business 
for  profit.  It  may  consist  of  only  a  few  mem-  ^^^^  corpora- 
bers,  or  of  many  thousands,  each  of  whom  owns 
one  or  more  shares  of  the  capital  stock.  These  members  may 
be  scattered  widely  over  the  entire  country.  The  corpora- 
tion may  represent  a  few  thousand  dollars  of  capital,  or  it 
may  represent  millions.  One  corporation  in  the  steel  indus- 
try is  said  to  have  a  capital  of  a  billion  dollars.  There  has 
been  a  constant  tendency  toward  larger  and  larger  combina- 
tions of  capital  for  the  control  of  the  world's  business.  It 
has  not  been  uncommon  for  a  great  corporation  to  control 
not  only  one  great  business,  such  as  a  railroad,  but  also, 
directly  or  indirectly,  other  related  businesses,  such  as  coal 
mines  and  banking  institutions. 

This  combination  of  capital  has  very  decided  advantages. 
Without  attempting  to  analyze  them  in  detail,  we  may  say  that 
they  include  economy  and  efficiency  of  operation,   p^^g^  ^f  ^j.. 
which  mean,  or  should  mean,  lower  prices  and  a  ganized 
better  product  or  service  for  the  consumer.     On  ^^^^  ^ 
the  other  hand,  such  combinations  of  capital  carry  with  them 
a  dangerous  power,  if  they  are  improperly  used.     For  example, 
they  may  stifle  wholesome  competition  (see  page  324)  by  ab- 
sorbing or  driving  out  of  business  smaller  competitors,  thus 
gaining  a  monopoly  in  a  given  industry  or  service.     Relieved  of 
competition,  the  big  corporation  has  the  power,  if  it  cares  to  use 
it,  of  giving  poor  service,  or  of  exercising  improper  control  over 
prices  and  wages.     Organized  capital  has  also  not  infrequently 
exercised  undue  influence  over  government. 

As  this  chapter  is  being  written,  the  newspapers  report  that  in  a  certain 
city  a  coal  dealer  has  brought  charges  against  a  coal  dealers'  association  of 
having  driven  him  out  of  business.  According  to  the  charges,  the  associa- 
tion of  coal  dealers  had  agreed  to  maintain  prices  to  consumers  of  coal  at 


332 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  Curb  Market  in  Broad  Street,  New  York  City 
In  the  heart  of  the  financial  center  of  New  York  and  of  the  nation 


a  certain  point.  The  offending  dealer  found  that  he  could  sell  coal  at  a 
considerably  lower  price,  and  did  so.  The  association  then  brought  its 
power  to  bear  to  prevent  the  offending  dealer  from  buying  coal,  and  thus 
drove  him  out  of  business.  Whether  or  not  the  charges  were  true  in  this 
particular  case,  it  illustrates  the  point  made  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  333 

We  sometimes  hear  people  speak  of  "soulless  corporations." 
A  corporation  may  easily  get  a  reputation  of  being  "soulless," 
not  because  the  individual  stockholders  are  neces-  "Soulless" 
sarily  soulless,  or  heartless,  but  because  of  the  corporations 
extremely  complex  organization  which  keeps  the  worker  re- 
mote from  his  real  employer,  and  therefore  out  of  his  mind. 
The  great  majority  of  persons  who  invest  their  savings  in  shares 
of  stock  in  a  business,  or  put  their  money  in  the  bank,  whence 
it  goes  out  into  industry  as  capital,  as  a  rule  think  only  of 
the  "profitableness"  of  their  investment,  and  are  utterly  ignor- 
ant or  unconscious  of  the  men  who  labor  to  make  their  invest- 
ment profitable,  and  of  the  conditions  under  which  these  men 
work.  They  are  also,  as  a  rule,  ignorant  of  the  wages  paid,  of 
the  factors  that  enter  into  the  making  of  prices  on  their  product, 
and  of  whether  the  business  is  giving  effective  service  to  the 
community.  Even  the  members  of  a  board  of  directors  of  a 
great  corporation  may  be  as  ignorant  or  as  thoughtless  of  these 
facts  as  the  small  investor ;  they  should  know  more  about  them, 
but  their  lack  of  knowledge  is  not  as  a  rule  due  to  any  desire  to 
be  unjust  either  to  the  workman  or  to  the  public. 

The  actual  operation  of  a  large  corporation  is  placed  in  the 
hands  of  managers,  superintendents,  and  foremen,  who  are 
responsible  for  employing  and  discharging  men,  Management 
fixing  wages,  supervising  conditions  of  work,  and  of  corpora- 
keeping  the  product  up  to  standard  in  quantity  ^°^^ 
and  quality.  They  constitute  a  barrier  between  the  workmen 
and  the  real  employer,  the  capitalist  group.  They  are  employed 
to  see  that  the  business  is  profitable,  and  profit  to  the  owners 
has  too  often  been  secured  by  driving  the  workmen,  by  long 
hours  of  work,  by  low  wages,  by  false  economy  in  failing  to 
provide  safety  devices  and  sanita'ry  conditions  of  work,  by 
"laying  off"  men  when  business  is  dull,  and  by  other  methods 
that  work  hardship  to  those  who  furnish  the  labor.  Of  these 
things  the  large  or  small  investor  too  seldom  thinks. 


334  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  businesses  and  trades  in  your  community  are  carried  on  with  so 
little  capital  that  the  worker  furnishes  his  own  capital?  What  trades  are 
still  carried  on  by  hand  processes  (without  machinery)  ? 

Report  on  the  Industrial  Revolution  and  its  effects  (see  Readings  below). 

Discuss  the  proposition  that  "profit  gained  at  the  sacrifice  of  others' 
interests  is  not  just." 

How  does  a  group  of  people  "incorporate"  for  business  or  other  pur- 
poses? (Consult  at  home,  or  with  business  acquaintances,  preferably  a 
lawyer  friend.) 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  business  "partnership"  and  a  business 
"corporation"?  (Again  consult  at  home  or  with  friends.)  What  ad- 
vantages does  the  latter  have  over  the  former? 

Make  a  list  of  a  variety  of  corporations  in  your  city.  Find  out  how  some 
of  them  are  organized.  Also,  the  capital  stock,  and  whether  it  is  owned 
by  a  few  individuals  or  by  a  large  number  of  investors. 

In  what  ways  do  large  combinations  of  capital  secure  economy  and 
efficiency  in  operating  a  business  ? 

What  is  a  "monopoly"?  What  monopolies  exist  in  your  city?  Are 
these  considered  an  advantage  or  a  disadvantage  to  the  city?    Why? 

The  lot  of  the  wage  earner,  however,  has  steadily  improved 
as  the  years  have  passed.  Wages,  especially  those  of  skilled 
J  X    workmen,  have  increased  —  not  only  the  money 

in  lot  of  the  wages  received,  but  also  the  actual  wages  as 
wage  earner  measured  by  the  living  that  the  money  wages  will 
buy.  The  working  day  has  been  shortened  in  most  industries. 
Laws  have  been  passed  to  regulate  the  work  of  women  and 
children.  Safety  devices  have  been  widely  adopted.  Sanitary 
conditions  of  working  places  have  been  improved.  Many 
employers  spend  large  sums  of  money  for  the  health,  safety, 
comfort,  education,  recreation,  housing,  of  their  employees 
and  their  families. 

This  improved  position  of  wage  earners  is  largely  the  result 
of  organized  cooperation  on  their  part.  The  worker  is  at  a 
Organization  great  disadvantage  when  he  has  to  bargain  as  an 
of  labor  individual  with  such  an  organization  of  capital  as 

that  described  above.  The  organization  of  labor,  as  we  know 
it  to-day,  had  its  beginnings  about  a  hundred  years  ago,  when 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  335 

men  in  the  same  trade,  or  in  related  trades,  began  to  form 
unions,  usually  local  in  character.  Effective  organization  has 
been  slow  of  development,  partly  because  of  the  lack  of  good 
leadership  and  experience,  partly  because  of  vigorous  opposition 
on  the  part  of  capital.  Frequently,  in  the  early  days,  organi- 
zation went  on  in  secret.  While  there  is  still  more  or  less 
opposition,  it  is  now  quite  generally  conceded  that  labor  has 
as  much  right  to  organize  in  its  own  interests  as  has  capital. 
The  most  extensive  and  powerful  labor  organization  in  the 
United  States  at  the  present  time  is  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor,  which  is  a  federation  of  several  hundred  local,  state, 
national,  and  international  labor  organizations,  and  represents 
a  membership  of  more  than  two  million  workers. 

Organization  has  brought  improvement  to  the  wage  earner 
by  several  methods.  First,  most  labor  organizations  have  a 
system  of  benefits  for  their  own  members,  such  as  Howorgani- 
insurance  against  death,  sickness,  or  accident,  zation  brings 
pensions  for  those  who  have  grown  old  in  service,  i^P^'o^^^^^ 
loans  to  members  out  of  employment.  In  the  second  place, 
labor  organization  has  had  great  educational  value.  It  has 
not  only  stimulated  its  own  membership  to  self-education,  but 
it  has  done  much  to  educate  the  public  mind  and  to  create 
a  public  opinion  sympathetic  with  the  reasonable  demands  of 
labor  for  better  conditions.  Very  many  of  the  improvements 
introduced  by  corporations  for  the  benefit  of  their  employees 
have  resulted  from  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  which  labor 
organizations  have  helped  to  create. 

In  the  third  place,  labor  has  made  gains  by  means  of  direct 
dealings  with  the  employer.  One  of  the  principal  things  for  which 
labor  has  fought  is  the  right  of  collective  bargaining,  collective 
Without  this  right,  each  workman  has  to  make  his  bargaining 
own  bargain  with  the  employer  as  to  wages,  hours  of  work,  and 
other  matters.  With  it,  the  labor  organization,  through  its 
representatives,  bargains  as  a  body  with  the  employer  in  arriv- 


33^ 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


ing  at  a  scale  of  wages  for  all  workmen  of  a  given  class,  a  mini- 
mum wage  below  which  the  employer  may  not  go,  and  so  on. 
The  controversy  is  especially  bitter  over  the  "closed  shop" 
and  "open  shop"  question.  A  "closed  shop"  is  one  in  which 
no  workman  is  employed  who  is  not  a  member  of  a  union ;    it 


Safety  Devices  in  a  Machine  Shop 


is  "closed"  to  non-union  men.  It  is  therefore  a  recognition 
of  the  principle  of  collective  bargaining.  An  "open  shop" 
is  "open"  to  union  and  non-union  men  alike,  the  men  being 
employed  as  individuals.  It  is  therefore  considered  by  organ- 
ized labor  to  be  a  denial  of  the  right  of  collective  bargaining. 
The  wage  earners  claim  that  the  right  of  collective  bargaining 
is  one  that  the  employers  themselves  exercise  when  the  directors 
or  ofl&cers  of  a  corporation  represent  thousands  of  stockholders 
in  dealing  with  the  workmen,  and  that  it  is  no  more  than  just 
that  the  wage  earners  should  enjoy  it  also.  The  right  has  now 
been  quite  widely  conceded,  though  many  employers  still  deny  it. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  337 

Diflferences  between  organized  labor  and  organized  capital 
are  sometimes  settled  by  conferences  between  representatives 
of  the  two  groups.     At  other  times  arbitration  ^^  -m  tu  a     * 
resorted  to,  when  differences  are  settled  by  a  board   settling 
or  commission  consisting  of  a  person  selected  by     *°^''®'^<^®s 
the  wage  earners  (but  not  from  among  themselves),  another 
selected  by  the  employers,  and  a  third  by  these  two.     A  third 
method  of  attempting  to  settle  disputes  is  by  the  strike,  on  the 
part  of  the  wage  earners,  or  by  the  lockout,  on  the  part  of  the 
employers.     In  the  strike  the  workmen  stop  work  in  a  body; 
in  a  lockout  the  employers  close  their  doors  to  the  wage  earners. 
Unfortunately    the    strike    and    the    lockout    are    sometimes 
accompanied  by   violence,  often   resulting  in   the  destruction 
of  property  or  even  loss  of  life. 

Another  weapon  sometimes  used  by  organized  labor  is  the 
boycott,  which  means  concerted  refusal  to  use  the  product  of 
the  offending  employer,  or  to  have  other  dealings  ^,  „. 
with  him,  and  an  effort  to  persuade  the  public  to  cott "  and  the 
refrain  from  such  dealings.  It  is  common,  for  acklist " 
example,  during  a  waiters'  strike,  to  see  "pickets"  stationed 
in  front  of  restaurants  importuning  passers-by  not  to  patronize 
the  latter.  A  corresponding  weapon  used  by  employers  is  the 
"  blackhst,"  an  attempt  to  prevent  other  employers  from 
employing  objectionable  workmen.  The  use  of  the  "union 
label"  on  manufactured  articles  is  designed  to  persuade  the  pub- 
lic to  buy  such  articles  in  preference  to  articles  not  bearing  it. 

What  is  the  difference  between  "money  wages"  and  "real  wages"? 
How  may  the  former  be  raised  or  lowered  without  affecting  the  latter  ? 

Make  a  list  of  labor  organizations  represented  in  your  city. 

Make  a  study  of  the  benefits  of  membership  in  such  organizations. 

Make  a  report  on  the  "welfare  work"  of  some  large  industry  or  depart- 
ment store  in  your  city. 

Why  have  employers  objected  to  collective  bargaining  on  the  part  of 
wage  earners? 


338  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Which  of  the  three  methods  ot  settling  labor  disputes  mentioned  in  the 
paragraphs  above  do  you  think  is  best?  Why?  Can  you  give  examples 
of  the  use  of  one  or  more  of  them  in  your  community? 

Watch  the  newspapers  for  accounts  of  strikes,  and  note  the  causes. 
Also  watch  for  labor  difficulties  that  are  settled  by  conference  or  arbitration. 

In  spite  of  the  material  gains  that  the  labor  group  has  made, 
the  conflict  between  it  and  the  capitalist  group  still  continues, 
Critical  staee  ^^^  ^^^'  '^^  fact,  reached  a  particularly  critical 
of  the  con-  stage.  The  cost  of  living  has  advanced  along 
^  with  wages,  and  often  more  rapidly.     With  the 

progress  of  civilization  the  wants  of  men  increase,  and  the  wage 
earners  are  no  exception  to  this  rule.  Habits  of  thrift  have 
not  always  kept  pace  with  increasing  income,  so  that  workers 
frequently  find  themselves  no  better  off  in  this  world's  goods 
than  when  wages  were  lower.  The  great  mass  of  unskilled 
workmen  has  not  shared  proportionately  with  the  skilled  work- 
men the  benefit  of  higher  wages,  and*  the  unskilled  are  usually 
the  least  educated,  the  least  organized,  and  often  the  most 
turbulent.  Moreover,  there  has  been  a  growing  belief  among 
those  who  furnish  the  labor  that  the  product  of  that  labor  by 
right  belongs  at  least  as  much  to  them  as  to  those  who  furnish 
the  capital,  and  that  they  should  have  at  least  some  voice  in 
the  management  of  industry.  On  the  other  hand,  organized 
capital  is  inclined  to  make  a  desperate  stand  against  what  it 
considers  aggression  on  the  part  of  labor,  and  in  defense  of  its 
traditional  property  rights. 

Thus  each  of  the  two  groups  engaged  jointly  in  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth  is  perfecting  its  organization  for  team  work 
Group  war-  hi  safeguarding  its  interests  against  the  other.  As 
^"^  for  team  work  between  the  two  groups  in  their 

common  task,  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist.  It  is  true  that 
each  does  of  necessity  depend  upon  the  other  and  cooperate 
with  it  up  to  a  certain  point.  But  the  relations  between  them 
are  very  much  like  those  between  two  nations  that  find  it 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  339 

necessary  and  desirable  to  trade  with  each  other,  but  each  of 
which  is  suspicious  of  the  other  and  constantly  watching  for 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  attack  the  other  for  some  new 
advantage  over  it. 

What  is  to  be  the  outcome?  No  one  knows  as  yet.  There 
are  divergent  views  as  to  the  way  out.  First,  of  course,  are 
those,  naturally  within  the  capitalist  group,  who  Business  a 
think  that  everything  depends  upon  maintaining  public  trust 
the  established  system  of  capitalist  control.  But  there  are 
few  who  fail  to  see  that  adjustments  of  some  kind  must  take 
place,  and  in  fact  are  taking  place.  At  the  other  extreme  are 
those  who  believe  that  the  capitalist  should  be  completely 
dethroned,  and  that  labor  should  assume  the  control  and  reap 
the  reward  that  has  heretofore  gone  to  the  capitalist.  This 
group  believes  that  labor  "owns"  industry,  just  as  capital  has 
believed  that  industry  belongs  to  ii.  This  group  is  doubtless 
small  in  the  United  States.  To  it  the  real  bolshevists  of  Russia 
belong.  There  has  been  a  growing  sympathy  for  labor  in  its 
struggle  for  a  better  living  and  for  a  just  share  of  the  wealth 
which  it  helps  to  produce;  but  that  sympathy  will  be  lost  if 
labor  makes  the  same  error  that  capital  made  in  seeking  to 
appropriate  industry  and  its  proceeds  for  its  own  uses.  Busi- 
ness must  be  considered  in  larger  measure  as  a  public  trust 
placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  furnish  capital  and  labor  to 
be  administered  for  the  public  good,  and  for  the  administration 
of  which  both  labor  and  capital  shall  receive  a  just  share  of  the 
proceeds  as  compensation  for  their  service. 

A  third  answer  to  the  question  is  given  by  the  socialists.  These 
are  divided  among  themselves  on  many  points,  but  their  main 
underlying  doctrine  is  that  capital,  as  well  as  the  land  and  its 
resources,  belongs  of  right  to  all  the  people,  and  that  it  should 
be  managed  for  the  production  of  wealth  by  the  people's  gov- 
ernment. Socialism  has  gained  many  followers  in  some  nations 
of  the  world,  but  it  is  by  no  means  a  popular  solution  of  the 


34°  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

labor  situation  in  the  United  States,  although  it  has  numerous 

advocates. 

Most  people  in  the  United  States  believe  that  business  and 

industry  may  still  be  carried  on  best  by  private  enterprise, 

provided  a  way  can  be  found  to  secure  real  team 
Profit  sharing     ^     .  /^       j-rr         ^  j    •      . 

work  among  the  different  groups  engaged  in  it. 

How  this  can  be  accomplished  is  still  a  problem.  Some  have 
urged  that  its  accomplishment  depends  upon  permitting  those 
who  furnish  the  labor  to  share  in  the  profits  of  business,  not 
merely  in  higher  wages,  but  as  stockholders.  By  virtue  of  the 
labor  they  put  into  the  business,  the  wage  earner  is  conceived 
of  as  part  owner  with  the  capitalist,  sharing  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  business ;  or,  by  investing  his  larger  savings  in  the  busi- 
ness, he  may  in  fact  become  to  that  extent  a  capitalist,  sharing 
in  the  capitalist's  profits.  There  are  numerous  instances  of 
business  conducted  on  some  such  profit-sharing  basis. 

Others  go  farther  than  this,  and  maintain  that  real  cooperation 
between  labor  and  capital  can  be  effected  only  when  labor  is 
Industrial  permitted  to  share,  not  only  in  the  ownership  and 
democracy  profits,  but  also  in  the  management  of  business  and 
industry.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  industrial  democracy. 
Proposals  of  this  sort  have  met  with  vigorous  opposition  by 
many  in  the  capitalist  group,  partly  because  of  a  suspicion  that 
they  are  attempts  to  gain  control  of  industry  for  labor,  and 
partly  because  of  a  feeling  that  the  labor  group  is  not  yet 
capable  of  exercising  responsibility  of  management.  Friends 
of  the  proposal  reply  that  the  thing  most  lacking  on  the  part 
of  labor  at  present  is  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  success  of 
business  enterprises,  and  that  they  can  acquire  it  only  by  being 
made  responsible;  and  also  that  the  increased  interest  in  the 
business  on  the  part  of  labor  would  redound  to  the  profit  of 
both  capitalist  and  community.  Here  and  there  employers  in 
the  United  States  are  experimenting  with  such  cooperative 
management  of  their  business. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY 


341 


"Before  the  war  this  new  method  was  practically  unknown  either  in 
America  or  elsewhere  .  .  .  but  to-day  there  are  several  hundred  industries 
—  or  if  individual  plants  are  counted,  many  thousands  —  varying  all  the 
way  from  huge  steel  plants  like  the  Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Company  and 
the  Midvale  Steel  Company,  to  little  factories  of  a  few  hundred  hands, 
where  the  new  plan  is  being  practically  tried  out." 


Giving  First  Aid  in  an  Industrial  Plant 


As  a  single  example :  The  Dutchess  Bleachery  of  Wappinger  Falls, 
N.Y.,  is  managed  by  a  "board  of  management"  consisting  of  three  members 
representing  the  employer's  side  and  three  members  representing  the  wage 
earners.  A  seventh  member  may  be  elected  by  the  other  six  to  act  as  an 
arbitrator  in  case  of  a  deadlock,  and  his  vote  would  be  final.  After  all 
expenses  of  the  mill  are  paid,  including  six  per  cent  interest  on  the  capital, 
the  remaining  profits  are  divided  equally  between  the  stockholders  and 
the  workers.  At  the  first  division  of  profits,  the  wage  earners  received 
dividends  amounting  to  four  per  cent  of  their  wages.  In  case  hard  times 
strike  the  mill,  and  there  should  be  a  loss  instead  of  a  profit,  interest  on 
capital  will  still  be  paid,  and  also  half  wages  to  the  workmen,  out  of  a  fund 
that  is  being  laid  aside  for  such  purpose  out  of  profits. 


342 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


"These  new  responsibilities,  coupled  with  the  new  opportunities  for 
a  real  share  in  any  increased  effort,  has  awakened  a  wholly  new  spirit  in 
tie  mill.  There  is  a  reason  now  for  'getting  busy,'  for  pushing  up  pro- 
duction. .  .  .  For  more  production,  more  efficient  work,  means  more 
profits  .  .  .  and  half  of  all  profits  go  to  them"  (the  workmen) .^ 


A  Threatened  Strike  in  the  Steel  Industry 


The  present  warfare  among  those  engaged  in  the  production 
of  the  nation's  wealth  places  an  insuperable  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  achieving  our  national  purposes,  as  stated  in  the 
preamble  to  the  Constitution,  —  "to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defense,  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings 
of  liberty."  There  are  those  who  hold  our  government  more  or 
less  responsible  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  struggle.  In  follow- 
ing chapters  we  shall  inquire  into  some  of  the  ways  in  which 
government  actually  enters  into  the  matter.  But  whatever 
our  government  is  or  does,  it  can  never  completely  fulfill  its 

1  Ray  Stannard  Baker,  The  New  Industrial  Unrest,  pp.  149-165. 


Industrial 
warfare  an 
obstacle  to 
achievement 
of  national 
purpose 


TEAM  WORK  IN  INDUSTRY  343 

proper  purposes  as  long  as  the  people  are  arrayed  against  one 
another  in  hostile  camps.  We  are  in  sore  need  of  leadership 
that  will  bring  both  sides  in  the  conflict  to  see  that,  not  by 
victory  of  one  over  the  other,  but  by  team  work  in  a  common 
enterprise,  will  the  real  interests  of  either  be  served. 

Show  how  the  conflict  described  in  this  chapter  negatives  each  of  the 
purposes  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution. 

What  evidence  can  you  bring  in  from  the  newspapers  or  other  sources 
that  the  strife  between  labor  and  capital  has  reached  a  critical  stage? 

Report  on  the  development  of  cooperation  among  farmers  for  the  pro- 
motion of  their  interests.     (See  Readings  below.) 

What  evidence  can  you  find  to  show  that  the  cooperation  of  the  farmers 
indicates  opposition  to  and  by  other  interests?  (For  example,  when 
farmers  agree  to  withhold  their  wheat,  or  their  cotton,  from  market  until 
higher  prices  prevail.) 

What  is  meant  by  saying  that  business  is  a  "public  trust"? 

What  arguments  can  you  find  for  and  against  socialism? 

What  is  the  distinction  between  socialism,  anarchism,  and  bolshevism? 

Is  government  management  of  the  post  ofiice  socialistic?  government 
ownership  of  railroads?    city  ownership  of  waterworks  and  street  railways? 

Are  there  any  profit-sharing  business  enterprises  in  your  city?  If  so, 
report  on  the  operation  of  one  of  them. 

If  you  know  of  any  "cooperative  store"  in  your  community,  report  on 
its  operation. 

If  a  wage  earner  shares  in  the  increased  prosperity  of  an  industry  through 
profit  sharing,  should  he  also  share  in  its  losses? 

Report  on  instances  of  cooperative  management  of  an  industry  by 
capital  and  labor,  in  your  own  community  or  elsewhere. 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson    3,  The  cooperation  of  specialists  in  modern  society. 
Lesson    6,  Capital. 
Lesson    7,  Organization. 
Lesson    8,  The  rise  of  machine  industry. 
Lesson  11,  Education  as  encouraged  by  industry. 
Lesson  20,  Private  control  of  industry. 
Lesson  25,  The  integration  of  the  greatest  manufacturing  concern  in  the 

United  -States. 
Lesson  28,  The  worker  in  our  society. 


344  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Series  B:  Lesson    3,  A  cotton  factory  and  the  worker. 
Lesson  11,  The  work  of  women. 
Lesson  12,  Impersonality  of  modem  life. 

Lesson  25.  Concentration  of  production  in  the  meat-packing  industry. 
Lesson  26,  Concentration  in  the  marketing  of  citrus  fruit. 
Lesson  28,  Women  in  industry. 
Lesson  29,  Labor  organizations. 
Lesson  31,  Employment  management. 
Series  C:  Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  human  beings. 
Dunn,  Arthur  W.,  Comtnunity  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap,  iii  (for  cooperative  enter- 
prise among  farmers). 
Publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  referred  to  in  Readings,  chap,  iii, 

p.  39  (for  cooperation  in  agriculture). 
Tufts,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  chaps,  viii,  ix,  xv-xxviii  (Holt). 
Burch  and  Patterson,  American  Social  Problems,  chaps,  xiii-xv  (Macmillan). 
Towne,  Social  Problems,  chaps,  iv-viii  (Macmillan). 
Carlton,  The  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor  (Heath). 
Baker,  Ray  Stannard,  The  New  Indmtrial  Unrul  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 


CHAPTER  XIX 

HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  OUR  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS 

"  American  experience  indicates  that  what  men  do  for  them- 
selves, on  their  own  initiative,  is  better  done  than  what  pater- 
nalistic government  attempts  to  do  for  them."  ^ 

Americans  have  always  disliked  paternalism  in  government  — 
which  means  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  con- 
trol the  personal  affairs  of  the  people  as  a  father   our  govern- 

(Latin,  pater)  controls  the  affairs  of  a  small  child,    ment  not 

,  ,,  ^.1.       ,        ,.,.  j-i        paternalistic 

Democracy  is  founded  on  faith  in  the  ability  of  the 

people  to  manage  their  own  affairs  with  due  regard  for  the  equal 
rights  of  other  people.  We  look  upon  our  government  chiefly  as 
an  instrument  to  insure  equal  opportunity  to  all  to  act  on  their 
own  initiative  and  to  manage  their  own  affairs;  or,  to  use  the 
terms  we  have  used  before,  as  an  instrument,  not  so  much 
to  do  things  for  us,  as  to  secure  team  work  in  doing  things  for 
ourselves.  As  our  community  life  has  become  more  complex, 
we  have  come  to  expect  the  government  to  do  many  things  for  us, 
and  to  control  our  individual  conduct  in  many  ways,  that  were 
not  thought  of  at  an  earlier  time.  This  is  especially  true  of  our 
national  government.  Still,  we  adhere  in  the  main  to  the 
principle  that  the  government  should  do  things  for  us  only  when 
it  is  clear  that  they  could  not  be  so  well  done  by  private  enter- 
prise, and  should  control  our  conduct  only  so  far  as  to  secure 
equality  of  personal  freedom. 

One  reason  why  America  is  looked  upon  by  all  the  world  as 
"a  land  of  opportunity"  is  because  of  the  unusual  chance  it 

1  Editorial,  Saturday  Evening  Post,  February  12,  1921. 
345 


346  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

gives  to  every  one  to  choose  what  he  wants  to  do  for  a  living, 
A  "land  of  and  to  do  it  in  his  own  way  without  interference 
opportunity"  ^y  ^}-,g  government  as  long  as  he  does  not  inter- 
fere with  the  equal  rights  of  others. 

In  so  far  as  private  business  affairs  must  be  regulated,  Ameri- 
cans have  as  a  rule  preferred  that  it  should  be,  as  far  as  possible. 
State  control  ^^  ^^^  State  government,  which  is  near  by  and 
of  busi-  more  directly  under  their  control,  rather  than  by 

the  more  remote  national  government.  A  great 
deal  of  the  law  which  regulates  our  dealings  with  one  another 
in  business  matters  is  known  as  the  common  law,  which  has  not 
been  enacted  by  law-making  bodies,  but  is  merely  CM^/om  that  has 
come  down  to  us  from  an  earlier  time,  and  has  the  force  of  law 
through  having  been  recognized  by  the  courts.  It  consists  of 
rules  of  business  conduct  that  experience  has  shown  to  be 
necessary  for  the  sake  of  fairness  or  justice.  The  common  law 
has  been  supplemented,  however,  by  a  large  body  of  statutory 
law,  which  consists  of  statutes  enacted  by  law-making  bodies. 
Most  of  these  laws  affecting  personal  business  relations  are 
state  laws,  administered  by  state  and  local  ofi&cers. 

It  is  in  most  cases  the  state  law,  for  example,  that  fixes  the  conditions 
under  which  men  may  "incorporate"  for  business  purposes;  that  regulates 
business  transactions  for  the  protection  of  all  parties  concerned,  as  in  the 
transfer  of  property  and  other  forms  of  contract;  that  regulates  hours  of 
work,  the  work  of  women  and  children,  sanitary  conditions  of  factories, 
employers'  liability  for  accidents  to  workmen,  what  the  minimum  wage 
shall  be,  if  any,  and  the  like.  It  will  be  noted  that  these  laws  are  primarily 
protective  in  character.  Since  they  are  state  laws,  they  often  differ  greatly 
in  different  states. 

Each  state  has  a  system  of  courts  (see  pages  511,  514).  A  very 
large  part  of  their  work  is  the  administration  of  justice  in  matters 
The  part  of  pertaining  to  business  disputes  and  property  rights, 
the  courts  Even  in  the  criminal  courts  the  majority  of  cases  are 
those  in  which  persons  are  charged  with  the  violation  of  the 
property  rights  of  others,  or  with  fraud  in  business  transactions. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  347 

A  good  deal  of  the  administrative  machinery  of  our  state 
governments  (see  pages  497,  500)  is  employed  wholly  or  chiefly 
in  regulating  business  and  industrial  matters,  state  service 
This  administrative  machinery  may  be  called  the  organization 
state's  service  organization  (see  pages  498-499).  It  performs 
service  that  the  law  authorizes  or  requires.  Thus,  the  secretary 
of  state  issues  certificates  of  incorporation  to  business  organ- 
izations incorporating  under  the  laws  of  the  state  (see  page  330). 
There  are  state  bank  commissioners,  insurance  commissioners, 
railroad  commissioners,  and  other  similar  ofl&cers  to  give  effect 
to  the  laws  relating  to  banks,  insurance,  railroads,  and  the  like. 
Many  states  have  labor  boards  or  commissions  to  study  in- 
dustrial conditions  and  to  settle  labor  disputes.  A  large  part 
of  the  service  performed  is  purely  protective  in  character,  as 
in  the  case  of  state  or  city  police  or  factory  inspectors,  or  city 
fii-e  departments.  Bank  and  insurance  commissioners  and 
similar  officers  see  that  the  laws  are  observed  for  the  protection 
of  bank  depositors,  insurance  policy  holders,  etc.  Sometimes 
the  service  performed  is  for  the  promotion  of  business  or  indus- 
trial enterprises.  Thus,  many  states  have  a  forestry  service, 
state  geologists  and  entomologists,  agricultural  boards,  and 
other  agencies  and  officers  to  study  and  conserve  the  natural 
resources  of  the  state;  employment  bureaus;  schools  for  voca- 
tional training. 

When  our  national  government  was  created,  every  precaution 

was  taken,  by  provisions  in  the  Constitution,  to  prevent  it  from 

interfering  unduly  in  the  private  affairs  of  citizens.   Limited 

^,        ^  .        .  .  .   ,  ^  r    powers  of  the 

The  Constitution  contains  special  guarantees  of   national 

property    rights    (see    Amendments  IV     nd  V).    government 

Congress  was  given  certain  powers  to  regulate  business  activities 

and  to  promote  business  interests,  but  these  powers  were  few  in 

number  and  related  to  matters  that  obviously  could  not  be  left 

to  the  individual  nor  even  to  the  several  states  without  causing 

confusion  and  even  endangering  the  freedom  of  the  people; 


348 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


matters  in  which  cooperation  among  the  states  was  essential, 
such  as  foreign  and  interstate  commerce,  a  system  of  money, 
standard  weights  and  measures,  a  postal  service,  copyrights  and 
patents  for  the  protection  of  authors  and  inventors  (Art.  I, 
sec.  8,  clauses  3,  5,  6,  7,  8). 


The  United  States  Treasury,  Washington,  D.C. 


Do  you  think  that  the  government  of  your  school  is  "paternalistic"? 
Give  illustrations  in  support  of  your  answer. 

Consult  with  some  lawyer  friend  to  get  examples  of  "common  law" 
relating  to  business  life.    Report  results  in  class. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  origin  of  "common  law"  in  England. 
(See  Readings.) 

Get  a  summary  of  the  laws  enacted  at  the  last  session  of  your  state 
legislature  (or  of  bills  now  before  it  for  action)  and  make  a  list  of  the  subjects 
of  those  relating  directly  to  business  or  industrial  matters. 

From  the  constitution  of  your  state,  or  from  state  government  reports, 
make  a  study  of  your  state  "service  organization,"  and  note  the  depart- 
ments, bureaus,  commissions,  etc.,  that  deal  with  matters  pertaining  to 
commerce  and  industry. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  349 

Consult  your  father  with  regard  to  laws  that  regulate  his  business. 
Does  he  consider  that  these  laws  interfere  .with,  protect,  or  promote  his 
business  interests,  and  in  what  respect? 

Read  the  clauses  in  the  United  States  Constitution  referred  to  on  page  348. 

In  stating  the  policy  of  the  incoming  administration  in  1921,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  said  in  speeches,  "Less  government  in  business, 
and  more  business  in  government."    What  did  he  mean? 

Money  is  a  very  wonderful  cooperative  device.  Without  it 
we  should  have  to  resort  to  barter,  ov  a  direct  exchange  of  goods. 
In  rural  trading  centers  we  sometimes  see  examples  The  service 
of  this,  as  when  a  farmer  brings  eggs  or  butter  to  °^  money 
market  and  exchanges  them  for  flour  or  sugar  or  salt.  But 
this  method  of  exchange  cannot  be  carried  very  far  without 
extreme  inconvenience.  Money  makes  it  unnecessary  by 
affording  a  common  medium  of  exchange  (see  page  283). 

Many  kinds  of  things  have  been  used  as  money  by  different 
peoples  and  at  different  times,  as  when  the  American  colonists 
used  strings  of  shells  (wampum)  and  beaver  skins  Qualities  of 
in  trading  with  the  Indians.  But  money  that  is  money 
really  satisfactory  must  consist  of  something  that  not  only  has 
value  in  itself,  but  that  is  also  convenient  to  carry  and  handle, 
and  that  is  durable.  For  this  reason  the  metals,  and  especially 
the  precious  metals  gold  and  silver,  are  now  used  for  the  manu- 
facture of  money  by  all  civilized  nations. 

Our  government  operates  four  great  factories,  called  mints, 
for  the  manufacture  of  coin.  They  are  at  Philadelphia,  New 
Orleans,  Denver,  and  San  Francisco,  but  are  supervised  by  the 
director  of  the  mint  in  the  Department  of  the  Treasury  at  Wash- 
ington, who  also  has  charge  of  the  eight  assay  offices  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  where  gold  and  silver  are  received  in  the 
form  of  bullion,  tested  for  their  purity,  and  forwarded  to  the 
mints  for  coinage. 

A  great  deal  of  the  money  we  use,  however,  is  made  of  paper, 
as  it  is  more  convenient  to  handle  in  this  form.  But  this  paper 
money  merely  represents  gold  and  silver  money.    Some  of  it 


350  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

consists  of  gold  certificates  and  silver  certificates,  for  every  dollar 

of  which  there  is  a  gold  or  silver  dollar  in  the  United  States 

„  Treasury.    Other  forms  of  paper  money  .are  United 

Paper  money  i    \.  j 

States  notes,  bank  notes,  and  federal  reserve  notes, 
each  of  which   is   a   promise   of    the   government  to  pay  to 


The  Bureau  of  Printing  and  Engraving 
Where  United  States  currency  and  postage  stamps  are  engraved. 

the  holder  the  amount  indicated  on  the  face  of  the  note.  They 
represent  a  form  of  credit  (see  page  316).  We  accept  them 
because  of  our  faith  in  the  government  to  make  them  good  at 
any  time. 

The  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  at  Washington  manu- 
factures our  paper  money,  as  well  as  postage  stamps,  revenue 
stamps,  bonds,  and  other  government  paper  that  has  to  be 
engraved  from  steel  plates. 

The  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  employs  the  most  expert  designers, 
engravers,  plate  printers,  and  other  artisans,  besides  a  large  force  of  female 
operatives  counting  and  examining  the  printed  securities,  and  printers' 
assistants  who  aid  the  printers  in  their  respective  lines,  making  the  product 
of  this  bureau  very  difficult  to  counterfeit. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  351 

In  erecting  and  equipping  the  new  building  for  the  Bureau  of  Engraving 
and  Printing,  the  government  strove  to  furnish  the  employees  with  sur- 
roundings as  comfortable  and  attractive  as  possible.  It  is  in  every  way 
a  model  factory  building,  equipped  with  a  cooperative  lunch  room,  emergency 
hospital  with  special  wards  for  men  and  women,  every  convenience  for  the 
health  and  well-being  of  the  workers. 

From  the  gallery  of  the  high,  airy  room  where  the  big  presses  hum,  the 
writer  looked  down  on  the  men  and  women,  singing  in  the  sunlight  as  they 
printed  the  new  Victory  Bonds.  The  song  was  "The  Long,  Long  Trail," 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  undertone  of  great  machines,  and  in  the  con- 
tentment of  the  workers  one  caught  a  symbolic  glimpse  of  the  spirit  of  labor 
in  the  future  toward  which  the  world  must  surely  advance.'- 

The  value  of  a  coin  as  money  depends  not  only  upon  the 
amount  of  silver  or  gold  it  contains,  but  also  upon  the  stamp 
or  mark  of  the  government  which  it  carries.    In-   ^j^^  govem- 
dividuals  might  manufacture  coins;    but  if  they   ment's 
did,  the  coins  might  vary  in  quality,  just  as  shoes  or  ^^^'^^  ®® 
clothing  and  other  articles  vary  when  made  by  different  manu- 
facturers.    We  have  confidence  in  certain  makes  of  shoes  or 
clothes  or  tools  because  they  bear  the  trademark  of  certain 
manufacturers  in  whom  we  have  faith.    When  the  government 
makes  a  silver  dollar  or  a  five-dollar  gold  coin,  and  puts  its 
stamp  upon  it,  we  know  that  it  contains  exactly  as  much  silver 
or  gold  as  every  other  similar  coin.    The  design  on  the  coin  or 
paper  bill  is  the  government's  guarantee,  in  which  we  have  full 
confidence. 

For  a  similar  reason  it  is  better  to  have  our  money  made  by 
the  national  government  than  by  the  several  state  governments. 
It  assures  us  of  a  uniform  currency  throughout  the   National 
United  States.    In  colonial  times  a  number  of  the   control  of 
colonies  made  their  own  money,  resulting  in  great 
confusion  in  intercolonial  trade.    A  somewhat  similar  difficulty 
exists  to-day  in  international  trade,  because  no  two  nations  have 
exactly  the  same  system  of  money;   but  our  government  helps 

1  The  Federal  Executive  Departments  as  Sources  of  Information,  pp.  45,  46. 
Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education, 


352 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


US  even  in  this  matter  by  keeping  us  informed  regarding  the 
rates  of  exchange  of  money  between  our  nation  and  others. 

Report  on  the  making  of  coin  money  (see  Readings). 
What  is  done  in  an  assay  ofi&ce? 

Report  on  the  making  of  paper  money  (see  Readings). 
Report  on  the  history  of  money  (see  Readings). 
Report  on  the  uses  of  money  (see  Readings) . 


Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing 

Examining  currency  for  possible  defects 


One  of  the  most  important  business  institutions  in  every 
community  is  the  bank.  There  are  banks  that  operate  under 
Banking  state  laws,   and   there  are  national   banks.     The 

system  latter  were  established  by  national  law  and  are 

under  the  control  of  the  Treasury  Department,  the  comp- 
troller of  the  currency  being  the  particular  oflScial  responsible  for 
their  supervision. 

The  national  banking  system  affords  an  example  of  a  service  by  the 
national  government  that  is  now  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  that 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  353 

was  at  first  seriously  objected  to.  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  during  Washington's  administration,  favored  a  national  bank 
as  a  means  of  helping  the  new  government  to  conduct  its  financial  operations, 
and  such  a  bank  was  soon  estabhshed,  but  only  in  the  face  of  great  opposition 
from  those  who  believed  that  it  would  give  the  government  too  great  in- 
fluence over  the  business  affairs  of  the  people.  For  forty  years  the  bank 
question  was  one  of  the  big  political  questions  of  the  country.  Our  present 
national  banking  system  dates  from  the  Civil  War,  when  it  was  created  to 
aid  in  financing  the  war. 

A  bank  aflfords  a  safe  place  for  the  deposit  of  money,  and,  by 
bringing  together  many  deposits,  makes  them  available  for  use 
as  capital  in  commerce  and  industry  (see  page  315).  Services  of 
A  bank  performs  another  great  service  by  promot-  *^®  ^^'^^ 
ing  and  safeguarding  the  use  of  credit.  The  means  by  which  this 
is  done  are  not  altogether  easy  to  explain  in  a  brief  statement, 
but  one  or  two  methods  may  be  mentioned. 

On  page  350  bank  notes  were  mentioned  as  a  form  of  credit. 

State  banks  once  issued  bank  notes,  but  these  varied  so  in 

value  and  caused  such  disturbance  to  business  that  „    , 

.  ,    .  1       ,  ,  B^°^  notes 

the  national  government  laid  a  heavy  tax  on  them, 

so  heavy  that  the  state  banks  could  no  longer  issue  them. 
National  banks  still  issue  bank  notes,  but  to  do  so  they  must  buy 
government  bonds  and  deposit  these  with  the  United  States 
Treasury  as  security.  National  bank  notes  are  backed  by  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  government. 

In  most  business  transactions  no  actual  money  changes  hands 
at  all.  One  device  that  makes  this  possible  is  the  bank  check. 
It  is  said  that  eighty  or  eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  «  ^.  .  . 
country's  total  business  is  transacted  by  means  of 
checks.  Stating  the  idea  in  another  way,  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness transacted  in  one  year  (1913)  by  the  use  of  checks  was 
estimated  to  be  fifty-four  times  greater  than  the  average  amount 
of  money  actually  on  deposit  in  the  country's  banks.  We  have 
seen  that  a  bank  does  not  keep  on  hand  all  the  money  that  is 
deposited  with  it,  but  lends  or  invests  a  large  part  of  it  as  capital 


354 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


in  business  enterprises.  This  is  passible  because  checks  serve 
our  purposes  fully  as  well  as  real  money  for  most  of  our  business 
transactions. 

While  it  is  true  that  small  depositors  sometimes  check  out  from  month 
to  month  an  amount  equal,  or  almost  equal,  to  their  deposits,  most  banks 
have  a  rule  that  a  depositor  must  maintain  an  average  balance  on  deposit, 


Machine  That  Signs  Ten  Checks  At  a  Time 
Used  in  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk  Insurance 

say  to  an  amount  of  not  less  than  $200.  If  we  take  into  consideration 
all  the  customers  of  any  bank,  we  shall  find  that  their  aggregate  with- 
drawals by  check  are  very  much  less  than  their  aggregate  deposits.  Thus 
it  is  that  banks  have  on  hand  enough  money  to  meet  all  ordinary  cash  with-_ 
drawals  by  check. 

It  has  sometimes  happened,  however,  that  heavy  demands  on 
banks  for  cash  beyond  their  immediate  ability  to  pay  have 
Instability  of  caused  them  to  close  their  doors.  Periods  of  busi- 
credit  j^ggg  "panic"  have  occurred  when  banks  failed  in 

large  numbers,  dragging  down  with  them  business  concerns  of 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  355 

other  kinds.     To  prevent  this  sort  of  thing  Congress,  in  1913, 
created  the  Federal  Reserve  System  of  banks,  at  the  head  of  which 
is  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  composed  of  the  Secre-  Federal  re- 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  the  comptroller  of  the  cur-   ^^^^  banks 
rency,  and  five  other  members  appointed  by  the  President.   The 
country  is  divided  into  twelve  federal  reserve  districts,  with  a 


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In  the  Census  Bureau 
Getting  printed  forms  ready  for  taking  the  census 

federal  reserve  bank  in  an  important  city  of  each  district.  In 
each  federal  reserve  bank  there  are  kept  ample  reserves  of 
money  that  can  be  shifted  quickly  from  one  part  of  the  dis- 
trict to  another,  or  from  one  district  to  another,  as  business 
needs  may  require.  The  system  has  already  proved  its  usefulness 
in  increasing  business  confidence. 

Report  on  the  services  of  a  commercial  bank  (see  Readings;  also  consult 
your  father  or  business  friends). 

Make  a  Hst  of  the  banks  in  your  community,  classifying  them  as  state 
banks  and  national  banks. 


356  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

What  is  a  "trust  company"?  How  does  it  differ  from  a  bank?  Add 
trust  companies  to  your  list. 

Wliat  is  a  financial  "panic"? 

Write  a  theme  on  "Confidence,  the  foundation  of  business." 

What  states  are  included  in  your  federal  reserve  district?  Where  is  its 
federal  reserve  bank? 

For  various  reasons  arising  from  the  nature  of  agriculture,  it 
has  not  been  as  easy  for  farmers  to  get  credit  at  times  when  they 
Federal  most  need  it  as  it  is  for  other  business  men.     In 

land  banks  order  to  give  assistance  to  farmers,  Congress  passed 
the  Federal  Farm  Loan  Act,  in  1916,  creating  a  system  of  federal 
land  hanks,  one  in  each  of  twelve  districts  into  which  the  country 
is  divided  for  the  purpose,  all  managed  by  the  Federal  Farm  Loan 
Board  at  Washington.  In  order  to  get  credit  through  this 
system,  the  farmer  must  agree  to  use  the  borrowed  money  for  the 
purchase  or  improvement  of  land,  or  for  equipment. 

The  provisions  of  the  Federal  Farm  Loan  Act  afford  an  excellent  illus- 
tration of  the  promotion  of  citizen  cooperation  by  the  help  of  government. 
The  government  does  not  lend  money  to  the  farmers;  it  merely  provides 
the  machinery  by  which  the  farmers  may  cooperate  among  themselves, 
and  also  secure  the  cooperation  of  investors  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
As  a  rule  the  farmer  can  borrow  money  from  the  land  bank  only  by  being 
a  member  of  a  local  "farm  loan  association."  His  dealings  with  the  bank 
are  through  this  association.  His  membership  in  the  association  gives 
him  better  standing  and  secures  for  him  better  terms  than  he  could  get  if 
acting  separately.  The  money  the  bank  lends  to  the  farmer  comes  from  the 
farmers  who  belong  to  the  association,  and  from  investors  in  other  parts 
of  the  country,  who  buy  shares  of  stock  in  the  bank  and  bonds  issued  by 
it  on  the  security  of  the  farmers'  land  and  equipment.  The  whole  scheme 
is  one  of  cooperation  which  would  be  impossible  but  for  the  legislation, 
financial  support,  and  supervision  of  the  government  at  Washington. 

As  we  have  seen,  money  is  a  measure  of  value,  and  the  govern- 
ment controls  its  manufacture  in  order  that  it  may  always  con- 
Standards  of  form  to  certain  standards.  Of  equal  importance  in 
weights  and  business  are  the  measures  of  quantity  and  quality 
measures  ^^  which  we  buy  and  sell.  Congress  was  given 
power  to  fix  the  standards  of  weights  and  measures. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  357 

It  is  not  enough  that  Congress  should  say  that  pounds  and 
ounces,  feet  and  inches,  bushels  and  pecks,  gallons  and  quarts, 
shall  be  our  standards  of  weight  and  measure;  there  must  also 
be  a  means  of  guaranteeing  that  a  pound  is  always  a  pound,  and 
that  a  gallon  is  always  a  gallon,  in  any  shop  or  market  where 


In  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  Washington 

This  large  balance  is  so  accurate  in  its  work  that  it  can  tell  the  exact  weight  of  the 
object  tested  to  one  one-hundred-millionth  part.  It  is  operated  under  a  glass  case 
lest  the  unnoticeable  air  currents  of  the  room  interfere  with  its  precision. 

people  buy  and  sell,  or  where  things  are  produced  for  the  people's 
use.  So  our  government  maintains  a  Bureau  of  Standards,  where 
the  standards  of  all  kinds  of  measurements  are  determined  and 
maintained.  Its  service  "indirectly  or  directly  affects  every 
individual  in  the  United  States." 

"Even  the  air  we  breathe  has  been  weighed"  and  its  ingredients  measured; 
"the  volume  of  water  delivered  over  Niagara  Falls  has  been  computed;  the 


358  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

distance  from  here  to  the  sun  has  been  measured.  We  lead  a  measured  exist- 
ence from  the  time  we  wake  up  in  the  morning  and  put  on  our  clothes,  the 
very  threads  of  which  have  been  tested,  measured,  and  'standardized,'  to 
the  time  when  we  darken  the  electric  lamp  —  the  light,  heat,  and  power  of 
which  have  been  measured"  with  the  utmost  accuracy.^ 

Every  city  has  its  inspector  of  weights  and  measures  who  goes 
about  periodically  with  his  standard  weights  and  measures  with 


In  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  Washington 
These  are  our  national  "prototype"  kilograms  from  which  are  derived  the  values 
of  all  weights  used  in  this  country.  They  were  made  by  an  international  commission, 
from  a  combination  of  metals  of  especial  durability.  When  it  is  necessary  to  handle 
them,  it  is  done  with  the  special  lifter,  the  faces  of  which  are  covered  with  a  very 
soft  plush. 

which  he  compares  the  weights  and  measures  used  in  ordinary 
business.  Those  that  do  not  conform  to  the  standards,  he  con- 
demns. 

As  our  monetary  system  differs  from  those  of  other  countries, 
so  do  our  systems  of  measurement,  to  our  great  inconvenience 
The  metric  in  international  trade.  Most  civilized  countries 
system  ^gg  ^^q  metric  system,  which  is  a  decimal  system 

and  therefore  much  easier  to  deal  with  than  our  national  system 
in  which  we  use  awkward  fractions.    There  is  a  movement  in 

*  Federal  Executive  Departments  as  Sources  of  Information,  p.  i8i.  Education 
Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  359 

favor  of  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  in  our  country,  to  the 
end  of  establishing  common  international  standards. 

An  interesting  illustrated  description  of  the  work  of  the  bureau  of  stand- 
ards is  contained  in  an  article  entitled  "A  Wonderland  of  Science,"  in  the 
National  Geographic  Magazine,  February,  191 5. 

See,  also,  the  description  of  the  bureau  in  The  Federal  Executive  Depart- 
ments as  Sources  of  Information,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1919, 
No.  74,  pp.  181-185. 

Visit  the  office  of  the  inspector  of  weights  and  measures.  Get  his  latest 
published  report,  if  available,  and  study  it. 

Report  on  the  metric  system.     (See  encyclopedia.) 

One  of  the  chief  duties  of  the  Treasury  Department  is  to 
collect  the  customs  duties  levied  by  Congress  on  imported 
goods.  The  primary  purpose  of  these  is  to  provide  Protective 
a  revenue  for  the  government  (see  pp.  429-430).  ^^^^i^s 
They  have  been  used,  however,  to  protect  home  industries 
against  the  competition  of  foreign  industries.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  making  the  tax  upon  the  imports  so  high  that  the 
prices  of  these  goods  are  raised  above  those  of  goods  of  home 
manufacture.  Like  the  question  of  the  national  bank  the 
question  of  protective  duties  has  been  hotly  debated  in  political 
campaigns,  many  believing  that  duties  on  imports  should  be 
"for  revenue  only,"  while  others  believe  that  American  indus- 
tries should  be  protected  by  them.  There  is  an  intermediate 
opinion  that  protective  duties  are  justified  in  the  case  of  "infant 
industries,"  i.e.,  industries  that  are  struggling  to  estal^lish  them- 
selves; but  that  they  are  not  justified  in  the  case  of  industries 
already  well  estabUshed  and  able  to  compete  on  equal  terms  with 
similar  foreign  industries. 

The  framing  of  a  tariff  law  that  is  just  to  every  one  concerned  is  one  of 
the  most  difficult  things  that  Congress  has  to  do.  For  example,  American 
wool  growers  may  want  a  duty  levied  on  imported  wool.  Manufacturers  of 
woolen  goods,  on  the  other  hand,  are  likely  to  oppose  such  a  duty,  as  it 
increases  the  price  of  the  raw  materials  of  their  industry;  while  they  want 
a  duty  levied  on  imported  woolen  fabrics.  So  every  important  industry 
seeks  protection  while  opposing  duties  on  materials  which  it  has  to  buy. 


360 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


All  sorts  of  influence  are  brought  to  bear  on  Congress  to  secure  tariff  laws 
favorable  to  particular  industries  and  to  particular  sections  of  the  country. 
The  difficulty  of  making  a  tariff  that  helps  one  without  injuring  others  is 
apparent. 


In  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  Washington 

The  giant  testing  machine  which  can  register  with  equal  accuracy  the  power 

necessary  to  crush  an  egg  shell  or  to  tear  apart  the  strongest  steel  girder. 


Those  who  oppose  protective  duties  assert  that  they  are  an 
unwarranted  interference  by  government  with  the  natural  opera- 
Arguments  tion  of  economic  laws:  that  they  interfere  with 
against  pro-  natural  competition,  keep  prices  up  to  the  detriment 
tective  duties  of  the  consumer,  and  favor  privileged  classes  of 
producers.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  argued  that  the  protection 
of  home  industries  means  not  only  the  protection  of  the  capitalist 
producers,  but  also  that  of  American  labor  against  the  competi- 
tion of  foreign  labor.  Protection  is  also  defended  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  to  our  national  interest  to  become  as  completely  self- 
sustaining  as  possible,  and  thus  as  fully  independent  of  other 
nations  in  economic  matters  as  Dossible. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  361 

This  question  of  protective  duties  is  one  upon  which  there 
is  the  greatest  difference  of  opinion,  and  one  which  we  cannot 
settle.  The  truth  is  that  individuals  and  groups  of  individuals 
are  inclined  to  tolerate  government  control  as  long  as  it  seems 
to  be  to  their  personal  advantage,  and  to  resent  it  if  it  seems  to 
be  to  their  personal  disadvantage.  No  great  question  of  this 
sort  can  be  justly  settled  on  any  other  basis  than  that  of  the 
common  interest. 

Is  your  father  a  "protectionist"  or  a  "free  trader"?  What  are  his  rea- 
sons?   (Ask  him.) 

Make  a  list  of  industries  in  your  city  that  are  protected  by  import  duties. 
What  are  some  articles  upon  which  these  industries  would  probably  like  to 
have  no  duty,  or  a  low  one?    Why? 

If  there  is  tariff  legislation  before  Congress  at  the  present  time,  is  the 
resulting  law  likely  to  be  strongly  protective,  or  not?  Report  in  class 
newspaper  and  magazine  comment  on  the  debates  and  proceedings  of  Con- 
gress with  regard  to  such  legislation. 

The  concentration  of  capital  in  the  hands  of  great  corpora- 
tions, with  the  resulting  monopolies  in  certain  businesses,  fmally 
led  to  national  legislation  for  the  control  of  the  Government 
latter.  We  have  already  read  (page  274)  of  the  control  of 
creation  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  *^*"'p°''^  ^°^^ 
in  1887,  for  the  regulation  of  transportation  lines.  In  1890  the 
Sherman  Act,  an  "anti-trust  law,"  was  passed,  making  unlawful 
any  "contract,  combination  ...  or  conspiracy  in  restraint  of 
trade."  Under  this  and  other  similar  laws  the  United  States 
Department  of  Justice  has  brought  suit  against  some  big  cor- 
porations, or  combinations  of  capital,  on  the  charge  of  unduly 
interfering  with  the  natural  development  of  business  competition, 
and  in  some  cases  has  caused  the  dissolution,  or  breaking  up,  of 
such  combinations,  or  "trusts."  While  such  laws  have  un- 
questionably checked  certain  abuses  in  business,  they  are  said, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  have  hampered  in  some  respects  the 
economic  and  efficient  growth  of  big  business  enterprises,  as  in 
the  case  of  railroad  coroorations  which  have  sometimes  been 


362 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


prevented  from  consolidating  competing  lines  when  to  do  so 
would  apparently  make  for  better  transportation  service  to  the 
country.     (See  page  276.) 

Do  you  know  of  cases  where  suit  has  been  brought  against  "trusts"  for 
violation  of  the  Sherman  Act?  What  can  you  find  out  about  such  cases? 
What  are  some  of  the  well-known  "trusts"  in  the  United  States? 


In  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  Washington 

A  balance  so  delicate  that  the  expert  must  operate  it  from  a  distance 

lest  the  heat  of  his  body  should  cause  a  disturbance. 

The  three  most  recently  created  administrative  departments 
of  the  national  government  are  those  of  Agriculture,  Commerce, 
and  Labor,  all  three  of  which  have  for  their  purpose  the  advance- 
ment of  the  economic  interests  of  the  country.  We  shall  en- 
counter some  phases  of  the  work  of  the  first-named  of  these 
departments  in  the  next  chapter.^ 

1  For  a  detailed  description  of  the  highly  interesting  and  important  work  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  see  Dunn,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap, 
xii.   Also  see  Readings. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS    363 

Long  prior  to  the  creation  of  the  Department  of  Commerce 
the  United  States  had  its  consular  system,  administered  by  the 
consular  bureau  in  the  Department  of  State.  This  The  consular 
system  is  still  maintained,  with  American  consuls  system 
stationed  in  all  the  important  cities  of  the  world,  one  of  their 
principal  duties  being  to  investigate  and  report  on  trade  and 
industrial  conditions  in  the  countries  to  which  they  are  sent. 

The  Department  of  Commerce  was  created,  however,  to 
foster  the  foreign  and  domestic  commerce  of  our  nation.  It  has 
trade  commissioners  and  commercial  agents  in  for-  ^j^^  ogpart- 
eign  countries,  their  duties  being  in  some  respects  ment  of  Com- 
similar  to  those  of  the  consuls.  Among  the 
bureaus  included  in  this  department  is  the  bureau  of  standards, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made;  also  the  census 
bureau,  the  bureau  of  navigation,  the  bureau  of  fisheries,  and  the 
bureau  of  foreign  and  domestic  commerce. 

The  future  of  our  commerce  abroad,  as  at  home,  lies  in  so  conducting  its 
affairs  that  all  parties  thereto  shall  be  gainers.  We  go,  let  us  say,  into 
a  strange  land.  We  may  look  at  its  people  in  two  ways.  We  may  say, 
"What  is  the  utmost  we  can  extract  from  these  people  by  greater  knowledge, 
by  clever  scheming,  perhaps  by  the  use  of  direct  or  indirect  compulsion?" 
On  the  other  hand  we  may  say,  "How  can  we  help  these  people  and  win 
a  due  regard  from  them,  gladly  given  because  we  are  helpful?  What  are 
their  needs?  How  can  we  supply  them?"  In  the  latter  case  would  fall 
the  investment  of  our  funds  abroav_I,  in  railways,  utilities,  public  and  private 
services  of  all  kinds,  the  development  of  their  natural  resources  of  whatever 
kind  they  might  be  and,  through  the  spending  there  of  our  means  and  our 
efforts,  the  building  up  those  peoples.  Out  of  that  would  normally  come' 
the  growth  of  business  flowing  to  our  shores.^ 

Report  on  the  consular  service  of  the  United  States  (see  Readings). 
Who  is  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  at  the  present  time? 
What  kinds  of  facts  regarding  the  industries  of  your  city  are  contained  in 
the  Census  Reports  of  1920? 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  bureau  of  fisheries  (see  Readings) . 

^The  Federal  Executive  Departments,  p.  178.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin, 
1919,  No.  74. 


364  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  Department  of  Labor,  the  most  recently  organized  of  the 
federal  administrative  departments,  has  for  its  purpose  "to 
Th  Deoart-  foster,  promote,  and  develop  the  welfare  of  the 
ment  of  wage  earners  of  the  United  States,  to  improve  their 

°^  working  conditions,  and  to  advance  their  oppor- 

tunities for  profitable  employment."  It  publishes  a  monthly 
magazine  called  the  Monthly  Labor  Review,  and  a  long  list  of 
bulletins  and  other  publications  bearing  on  a  wide  variety  of 
subjects. 

The  department  includes  a  division  of  conciliation,  which 
has,  in  its  seven  years  of  existence,  dealt  with  more  than  4,100 
Industrial  industrial  disputes,  about  3,500  of  which  were  suc- 
conciliation  cessfully  adjusted.  In  addition  to  this,  several 
hundred  threatened  strikes  were  averted.  It  is  the  policy  of 
the  division  not  to  interfere  in  any  dispute  unless  one  party 
or  the  other,  or  the  public,  asks  for  it.  It  does  not  have  the 
power  to  force  a  settlement,  but  acts  as  a  peacemaker  to  bring 
the  contending  parties  together  to  settle  their  own  difficulties. 

The  Department  of  Labor  also  contains  the  Children's  Bureau, 
The  children's  whose  duty  is  to  "investigate  and  report  upon  all 
bureau  matter  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  children  and 

child  life  among  all  classes  of  our  people." 

One  of  the  greatest  losses  of  time,  energy,  and  enthusiasm  is  the  waste 
on  the  part  of  children  blindly  endeavoring  to  discover  for  themselves 
suitable  places  in  our  complicated  industrial  system;  and  the  years  spent 
in  blind-alley  and  overcrowded  occupations  are  responsible  for  much  of  the 
unrest  prevalent  to-day. 

In  one  investigation  made  in  certain  industrial  cities  it  was 
found  that: 

...  a  surprising  number  of  children  between  5  and  15  years  of  age  — 
in  all,  nearly  5,000,  or  8  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  this  age  group  • —  had  at 
some  time  during  the  year  done  factory  work  in  their  homes,  either  by  hand 
or  by  machine.  Nearly  100  different  kinds  of  work  were  done  by  the  chil- 
dren who  were  employed  by  many  different  factories.  They  carded  snaps 
and   shoe  buttons;    assembled  various  kinds  of  jewelry;    strung  beads; 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  365 

stripped,  strung,  and  scalloped  lace;  pasted  or  stitched  chenille  dots  on 
veils;  finished  underwear;  and  performed  many  other  simple  operations 
incidental  to  manufacture.  Children  —  a  number  of  them  under  14  — 
used  machines  in  such  work  as  cutting  holes  and  pressing  humps  on  snaps, 
and  assembhng  collar  buttons.  .  .  .  Over  half  the  children  were  unable 
to  earn  as  a  maximum  5  cents  per  hour.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  children  worked 
not  only  after  school  hours  but  also  in  the  evenings;  some  worked  exclusively 


.S-'^iuacE*-  2iS 


War  Risk  Insurance  Building 


at  night.    A  small  number  of  children  who  were  regularly  employed  during 
the  day  in  factories  or  stores  also  worked  at  home  every  night.  .  .  . 

The  system  of  home  work  results  in  making  a  factory  of  the  home  —  a 
condition  which  operates  against  a  normal  environment  for  growing  chil- 
dren.i 

During  the  war  an  Employment  Service  was  developed  for  the 
purpose  of  directing  an  abundant  supply  of  labor   Employment 
to  the  points  in  industry  where  it  was  most  needed;   Service 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war  it  performed  great  service  in 
'  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Labor  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  ig2o,pp.  181, 182. 


366  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

finding  work  for  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors.  One  division 
of  the  Employment  Service  is  the  junior  section,  for  the  guidance 
of  boys  and  girls  from  16  to  21  years  of  age  who  are  seeking 
employment.  At  the  present  time  the  service  has  been  greatly 
curtailed  owing  to  a  lack  of  appropriations  from  Congress. 

The  Bureau  of  Immigration  and  the  Bureau  of  Naturalization 
are  parts  of  the  Department  of  Labor.  The  former  administers 
Bureau  of  ^^^  ^^^^  regulating  immigration,  one  purpose  being 
Inunigration  to  protect  American  wage  earners  against  competi- 
tion of  foreign  wage  earners  whose  standards  of  Uving  are  lower 
than  those  in  America.  The  Bureau  of  Naturalization  supervises 
the  admission  of  aliens  into  American  citizenship  (see  page  58). 

Though  this  chapter  is  long,  it  has  but  touched  upon  a  few 

of  the  imoortant  ways  in  which  our  national  government  serves 

■nn.  *  4.U-  our  economic  interests.     Some  others  have  been 

Wnat  this 

chapter  noted  in  earlier  chapters  (XIII  and  XV),  and  still 

teaches  others  will  be  mentioned  later.    From  the  study  of 

the  present  chapter,  however,  two  or  three  things  should  stand 
out.  One  is  the  growth  of  our  great  national  service  organization 
to  meet  the  changing  conditions  of  our  social  and  economic  hfe; 
an  organization  that  performs  services  and  affects  our  lives  in  a 
multitude  of  ways  not  dreamed  of  when  the  Constitution  was 
adopted.  A  second  thing  is  that,  with  all  its  extended  activity, 
our  national  government  has  in  the  main  adhered  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  doing  things  for  us  only  when  we  cannot  well  do  them  for 
ourselves,  or  when  state  control  is  inadequate.  In  the  third 
place,  we  have  had  illustration  of  the  fact  that,  when  the  govern- 
ment undertakes  any  new  kind  of  control  over  business  enterprise 
or  economic  conditions,  it  is  almost  certain  to  meet  with  opposi- 
tion from  those  who  feel  that  their  personal  interests  are  inter- 
fered with;  and  that  any  control  over  such  matters  that  the 
government  attempts  is  finally  accepted  by  the  people  only  when 
it  is  clearly  for  the  common  interest,  and  not  for  that  of  a  privi- 
leged group  alone. 


HOW  GOVERNMENT  SERVES  ECONOMIC  INTERESTS  367 

Write  (as  a  class)  to  the  Department  of  Labor  for  a  sample  copy  of  the 
Monthly  Labor  Review  (or  find  it  in  your  pubHc  library)  and  make  a 
summary  of  the  subjects  treated  in  it.  Make  a  detailed  report  on  some  one 
article  in  it  that  especially  interests  you. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  children's  bureau  (see  Readings). 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  (see  Readings). 

Report  any  action  that  may  have  been  taken  by  Congress  recently  for 
the  further  regulation  of  immigration. 

Do  you  know  of  any  complaints,  from  any  source,  that  our  national 
government  has  unduly  interfered  with  private  business  interests?  If 
so,  in  what  specific  instances?  What  arguments  are  put  forward,  by  those 
who  support  it,  in  defense  of  this  alleged  interference? 

READINGS 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Lijc: 

Series  A:  Lesson    i,  Some  Fundamental  Aspects  of  Social  Control. 
Lesson    9,  Social  Control. 

Lesson  12,  History  of  the  Federal  Departments. 
Lesson  13,  The  United  States  Food  Administration. 
Lesson  20,  Private  Control  of  Industry. 
Lesson  22,  The  Commercial  Bank  and  Modern  Business. 
Lesson  23,  The  Services  of  Money. 
Lesson  29,  The  War  Labor  Administration. 
Series  B:  Lesson  15,  Price  Control  of  Wheat. 

Lesson  21,  National  Standards  and  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 
Lesson  30,  Employment  Agencies. 
Series  C:  Lesson  12,  Patents  and  Inventions. 

Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Fuel  Administration. 
Lesson  21,  Before  Coins  Were  Made. 
Lesson  22,  The  Minting  of  Coins. 
Lesson  23,  Paper  Money. 

Lesson  24,  Money  in  the  Community  and  the  Home. 
Federal  Executive  Departments  as  Sources  of  Information,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education 

Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74. 
Publications  of  the  Department  of  Commerce  relating  to  topics  in  this  chapter. 
The  Monthly  Labor  Review  and  other  publications  of  the  Department  of  Labor 

relating  to  topics  in  this  chapter. 
Dunn,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chap,  xii,  "Government  as  a  Means  of 

Cooperation  in  Agriculture." 
Tufts,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  pp.  59-62,  125-128,  182-184  (on  the  common 
law);  pp.  273-275  (on  the  control  of  trusts). 


CHAPTER  XX 

OUR   LAND   AND   ITS  RESOURCES 

"  We  have  nothing  precious  that  does  not  represent  struggle. 
We  have  nothing  of  lasting  value  that  does  not  represent 
determination.  We  have  nothing  admirable  that  does  not 
represent  self-sacrifice.  We  have  no  philosophy  except  the 
philosophy  of  confidence,  of  optimism  and  faith  in  the  right- 
eousness of  the  contest  we  make  against  nature.  We  are  to 
conquer  this  land  in  that  spirit."  —  Franklin  K.  Lane. 

The  land  is  the  source  of  all  our  wealth ;  of  the  necessities 
and  comforts  of  life ;  of  the  means  of  living.  This  wealth  is 
Th  land  the  extracted  from  the  land  only  by  the  application  of 
source  of  labor.     Land  and  labor  are  the  two  primary  factors 

wealth  -^   ^YiQ  production   of   wealth.     Without   capital, 

however,  —  tools  and  machinery,  —  to  aid  him  in  the  process, 
man  would  have  remained  in  a  state  of  savagery.  But  capital 
itself  is  the  result  of  applying  labor  to  the  land  and  its  resources, 
—  plus  saving.  The  savage  was  on  the  road  to  civilization  only 
when  he  began  to  store  up  food  supplies  for  times  of  scarcity, 
and  to  devote  his  leisure  time  to  the  improvement  of  his  tools 
and  weapons.  With  these  he  had  a  powerful  ally  in  his  struggle 
for  the  conquest  of  nature,  which  has  been,  in  the  long  run,  the 
chief  feature  of  civilization.  In  an  earlier  chapter  we  have 
considered  the  partnership  of  labor  and  capital  in  this  enter- 
prise. In  the  present  chapter  we  shall  consider  our  land  and 
its  resources,  and  some  of  the  things  that  our  government  is 
doing  to  help  us  in  their  control. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  extended  west  as  far  as  the  Mississippi  River. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  369 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 


Lewis  and  Clark 
Explorers  of  the  Great  Northwest 

A  statue  at  the  University  of  Oregon 


37©  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

That  part  of  the  territory  which  lay  west  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains  had  been  claimed  by  seven  of  the  thirteen  states  that 
The  public  formed  the  Union ;  but  soon  after  the  war  they 
l^"<ls  ceded    these  western   possessions    to    the    United 

States,  having  received  a  promise  from  Congress  that  these 
lands,  which  were  largely  unoccupied  at  the  time,  should  be 
disposed  of  "/or  the  common  benefit  of  the  United  States."  They 
thus  became  public  lands;  that  is,  they  belonged  to  the  people 
of  the  nation  as  a  whole.  The  common  interest  in  these  public 
lands  was  one  of  the  chief  influences  that  kept  the  thirteen 
states  united  under  one  government  during  the  troubled  times 
between  the  close  of  the  Revolution  and  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  in  1789.  As  time  went  on,  they  were  increased 
by  the  acquisition  of  new  territory.^  To  turn  this  great  domain 
with  all  its  resources  to  the  fullest  service  of  the  nation  has  been 
one  of  the  greatest  problems  with  which  our  government  has 
had  to  deal. 

From  maps  in  school  histories  study  the  claims  of  the  United  States  to 
the  lands  west  of  the  .•yieghenies. 

What  is  the  Ordinance  of  1787? 

What  are  the  circumstances  connected  with  each  of  our  territorial 
acquisitions  (see  footnote,  below)  ? 

From  whom  did  the  colonists  acquire  the  right  to  the  land  in  the  original 
13  colonies^ 

When  settlers  began  to  occupy  the  lands  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  many  of  them  laid  claim  to  tracts  without  much  regard 
The  survey  ^^^  ^^^  claims  of  others.  Boundary  lines  were 
of  the  pubHc  indefinite.  Where  surveys  were  made  they  were 
often  inaccurate.  Disputes  arose  that  frequently 
found  their  way  into  the  courts  and  dragged  on  for  many  years. 
The  first  thing  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  this  confusion  and  to 

1  Louisiana  Territory  was  acquired  in  1803,  Oregon  in  1805,  Florida  in  181 2  and 
1819,  Texas  in  1845,  California  and  New  Mexico  in  1846-48,  the  Gadsden  Purchase 
in  1853,  Alaska  in  1867. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  37 1 

bring  the  land  under  control  was  an  accurate  survey,  and  this 
was  begun  in  Thomas  Jefferson's  administration. 

This  government  survey  has  not  yet  been  completed.  It  is 
being  carried  on  by  the  General  Land  Office  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior.  In  191 7  more  than  10,000,000  acres,  or  nearly 
16,000  square  miles,  were  surveyed.  In  that  year  there  still 
remained  unsurveyed  more  than  900,000  square  miles  of  public 
land,  590,000  of  which  were  in  Alaska  and  320,000  in  the  United 
States  proper. 

Is  your  state  a  "public  land"  state? 

If  so,  are  there  any  "public  lands"  left  in  your  state?     If  so,  locate  them. 

Study  a  map  showing  the  lines  of  the  survey  in  your  state.  (A  description 
of  the  method  of  the  survey  will  be  found  in  a  good  encyclopedia,  or  in 
Dunn,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  pp.  194-196.) 

If  your  state  is  not  a  "public  land"  state,  who  made  the  survey  (state 
government,  local  government,  private  citizens)  ? 

Are  city  lots  in  your  city  located  with  reference  to  the  lines  of  the  survey 
here  referred  to?  (Inquire  at  home,  or  of  real  estate  dealers,  or  at  office 
of  register  of  deeds  in  court  house.) 

In  the  method  by  which  the  government  sought  to  secure  the 
development  of  the  public  lands  we  have  a  striking  illustration 
of  its  policy  to  depend  as  fully  as  possible  upon  Public  land 
private  initiative  and  enterprise  (see  page  345).  It  Pol'<^y 
was  the  possession  of  the  vast  public  lands  and  the  method 
adopted  of  disposing  of  them  that,  more  than  anything  else, 
made  our  country  a  veritable  "land  of  opportunity."  The 
policy  adopted  was  to  turn  the  land  over,  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
to  citizens  who  would  make  use  of  it.  Various  plans  for  bring- 
ing this  about  were  tried  in  the  early  part  of  our  history,  until, 
in  1862,  Congress  passed  the  Homestead  Act,  which,  with  slight 
modifications,  is  in  effect  to-day.    (See  p.  113.) 

The  purpose  of  the  government  has  been  to  encourage  actual  settlement  in 
order  to  secure  the  development  of  the  nation's  resources,  and  for  this 
purtJose  to  allow  each  settler  enough  land  to  enable  him  to  support  a  family 
in  comfort.     It  was  decided  that  160  acres  of  good  farm  land  was  enough. 


372 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  policy  of  disposing  of  the  pubhc  lands  to  individuals 
has  of  course  been  of  great  benefit  to  the  latter;  but  we  should 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  national  well-being  is  the 
first  consideration.  As  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  said  in  a  recent  report  (191 6),  ''Every  acre  of  public 
land  disposed  of  under  this  line  of  legislation  is  an  investment, 
the  profits  to  be  found  in  the  general  development  of  the  welfare 
of  the  nation  at  large. " 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 
"Surveying  the  Land" 
After  a  painting  by  Frank  D.  Miller 

Do  you  know  any  one  who  has  ever  taken  up  a  "homestead  claim"?  If 
so,  learn  how  it  was  done. 

If  possible,  get  a  description  of  a  "land  lottery"  and  a  "land  rush"  in 
newly  opened  public'lands. 

It  has  been  no  simple  matter  to  administer  our  public  lands, 
and  mistakes  have  been  made.  Sometimes  the  interests  of 
o  ,  ..  individuals  have  not  been  sufficiently  safeguarded, 
the  interests  Many  settlers  have  suffered  serious  loss,  and  many 
of  individuals  pj-Qj^ising  communities  have  failed,  through  the 
taking  of  homesteads  in  regions  of  little  rainfall,  as  in  western 
Kansas  and  Nebraska.  The  government  now  seeks  to  protect 
homesteaders  against  such  errors  by  distinguishing  carefully 
between  lands  suitable  for  ordinary  agriculture  and  those  suit- 
able only  for  dry-farming  and  stock-raising,  by  informing  pros- 
pective settlers  in  regard  to  the  facts,  and  by  allowing  larger 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  373 

entries  in  lands  of  the  latter  classes.  Another  mistake  was 
made  in  allowing  many  of  the  first  claimants  to  stock-raising 
lands  so  to  locate  their  claims  as  to  acquire  the  exclusive  use 
of  the  only  available  water  supply  for  miles  around,  thus  making 
useless  other  large  tracts.  This  might  have  been  avoided  by 
a  little  foresight. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  land  laws  have  sometimes  been 
abused.  Large  quantities  of  public  land  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  speculators  whose  purpose  is  not  to  de-  Abuse  of 
velop  its  resources,  but  to  make  a  profit  from  the  ^^^^  ^^^^ 
increased  value  of  the  land  due  to  the  efforts  of  others  (see  page 
16).  Immense  areas  of  land  have  thus  been  withheld  from 
production,  or  have  been  made  to  produce  to  a  limited  extent 
only,  to  the  great  loss  of  the  nation. 

In  the  days  of  transcontinental  railroad  building,  large  tracts 
of  land  were  given  to  railroad  companies  by  the  government, 
with  the  expectation  that  they  would  dispose  of  it  Railroad 
at  reasonable  prices  to  settlers  attracted  by  the  ^^^^^ 
new  transportation  facilities,  and  would  use  the  proceeds  in 
railway  development.  In  fact,  however,  large  quantities  of 
this  land  have  been  held  in  an  unproductive  state  for  speculative 
purposes. 

An  illustration  of  this  is  the  case  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Railroad 
land  grant,  made  bj^  Congress  in  1869  and  1870,  and  comprising  more  than 
4,2CX3j000  acres,  most  of  which  bore  a  heavy  growth  of  valuable  timber. 
"This  railroad  grant  .  .  .  contained  a  special  provision  to  the  effect  that 
the  railroad  company  should  sell  the  land  it  received  to  actual  settlers  only, 
in  quantities  not  greater  than  one-quarter  section  to  one  purchaser  and  at  a 
price  not  exceeding  $2.50  an  acre.  By  this  precaution  it  was  intended  that 
in  aiding  the  construction  of  the  railroad  an  immediate  impetus  should 
also  be  given  to  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  country  through 
which  the  road  was  to  be  constructed." 

After  selling  some  of  the  lands  according  to  the  terms  of  the  agreement, 
the  railroad  company  ceased  to  live  up  to  these  terms  and  sold  large  bodies 
of  the  land  to  lumber  interests,  thus  putting  a  stop  to  the  development  of 
the  region  in  the  way  intended  by  the  government.     The  government 


374  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

brought  action  against  the  railroad  company,  the  outcome  of  which  is  that 
the  government  has  bought  back  from  the  company  at  $2.50  an  acre  all  of  the 
lands  of  the  grant  which  remained  unsold,  amounting  to  about  2,300,000 
acres  and  valued  at  from  $30,000,000  to  $50,000,000. 

These  lands  are  being  classified  "in  accordance  with  their  chief  value, 
either  in  power-site  lands,  timber  lands,  or  agricultural  lands,"  and  are  to  be 
disposed  of  accordingly.  The  timber  will  be  sold  separately  from  the  land, 
and  the  land  will  then  be  opened  to  homestead  entry. 

By  this  arrangement  the  railroad  company  gets  for  the  land  all  that 
it  was  entitled  to  under  the  terms  of  the  original  grant.  In  addition, 
provision  is  made  for  the  payment  to  the  counties  in  which  the  land  lies 
of  the  taxes  which  the  railroad  company  has  not  paid.  As  the  lands  are 
sold,  the  proceeds  are  to  be  divided  between  the  state  and  the  United  States, 
the  state  receiving  50  per  cent,  40  per  cent  being  paid  into  the  general 
reclamation  fund  of  the  United  States  (see  page  378),  and  10  per  cent 
into  the  general  funds  of  the  United  States  Treasury. 

(From  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  OfiBce,  1916, 
pp.  46-49-) 

Something  like  133,000,000  acres  of  our  public  lands  have 
from  time  to  time  been  turned  over  to  the  states,  the  proceeds 
,    ,  to  be  used  for  the  promotion  of  public  education, 

public  for  the  construction  of  roads,  and  for  other  pur- 

^"^""^^  poses    (see    Chapters    X    and    XV).      In    some 

cases  these  lands  have  not  been  used  altogether  for  the  purposes 
for  which  they  were  granted. 

The  responsibility  for  defects  in  our  methods  of  administer- 
ing the  public  lands  rests  in  part  upon  our  governmental  repre- 
Res  nsibiiit  sentatives,  who  have  not  always  dealt  wisely  with 
for  land  the  extremely  difj&cult  problem.     But  it  rests  also 

frauds  upon  each   individual  citizen.      There  are   those 

who  deliberately  seek  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  the  laws.  There 
is  one  division  of  the  General  Land  Office  in  Washington  known 
as  the  Contest  Division.  In  the  year  191 6  more  than  12,000 
cases  of  alleged  fraud  were  acted  upon  by  this  Division,  and  nearly 
12,000  other  cases  awaited  action  at  the  end  of  the  year!  But  the 
responsibility  comes  much  closer  home  than  this.  Many  of  us 
who  would  not  think  of  violating  the  law  have  failed  to  appre- 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES 


375 


ciate  the  value  of  the  gifts  that  nature  has  given  us,  and  have 
apparently  been  "too  busy"  to  inform  ourselves  as  to  whether 
or  not  our  public  lands  have  been  administered  solely  for  the 
purpose  to  which  Congress  devoted  them  just  after  the  Revo- 
lution (see  page  370).  This,  like  every  other  matter  of  com- 
munity interest,  requires  team  work. 


Fraudulent  Land  Claims 

The  land  shown  in  the  ilhistrations  was  claimed  under  the  Homestead  Act  as 

agricultural  land.    It  bore  many  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  valuable  timber. 

Have  public  lands  been  given  to  railroads  in  your  state?  If  so,  how 
were  they  used? 

Have  the  schools  of  your  state  derived  any  benefits  from  the  public  lands? 
If  so,  how? 

As  long  as  we  had  a  great  abundance  of  unoccupied  land  it 
would  perhaps  have  been  uneconomic  to  increase  the  produc- 
tion of  that  which  was  occupied  by  the  costly  -m-    *  f  1 
methods  of  agriculture  used  in  Belgium,  Germany,   of  early 
and    other    thickly    settled    countries.     But    our   ^^^^^^ 
methods  of  farming  have  not  only  failed  to  get  from  the  soil  all 


376  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

that  it  is  capable  of  producing,  they  have  also  robbed  it  of 
fertility  without  restoring  to  it  what  is  taken  from  it.  Thus 
the  loss  caused  by  wasteful  methods  is  passed  on  to  future 
generations.  To  continue  such  methods  with  our  growing 
population  and  with  the  increasing  demand  for  food  products 
is  thriftless  in  the  extreme. 

In  1839  Congress  made  its  first  appropriation  of  $1,000  to  be  spent  in 
gathering  information  about  agricultural  matters.  In  1918  it  appropriated 
.^    ,     .  the  enormous  sum  of  $37,000,000  for  the  development  of  the 

Department  resources  of  the  soil !  This  money  is  expended  by  the  Depart- 
of  Agri-  ment  of  Agriculture  for  this  purpose.     In  1862  Congress  made 

culture  gjfjg  (jf  public  lands  to  the  several  states,  the  proceeds  from 

which  were  to  be  used  for  the  establishment  and  support  of  agricultural  col- 
leges. In  1887  it  made  appropriations  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural 
experiment  stations  to  be  conducted  cooperatively  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  the  state  governments.  In  1914  a  law  was  passed  (the  Smith- 
Lever  Act)  under  which  annual  appropriations  are  made  for  agricultural 
extension  work  to  be  conducted  by  the  state  agricultural  colleges  with  the 
cooperation  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  work  that  national 
and  state  governments  are  doing  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  soil  is  not 
only  very  interesting  to  read  about,  but  it  affords  a  fine  example  of  govern- 
mental activity  in  encouraging  individual  initiative  and  enterprise,  and  in 
securing  cooperation  among  the  agricultural  population  and  between  it 
and  other  business  interests  of  the  nation.  (See  Dunn's  Community  Civics 
and  Rural  Life,  Chapter  XII.) 

Even  in  our  cities  there  is  a  great  deal  of  land  lying  idle  that 
might  be  made  productive  of  food.  It  was  largely  from  vacant 
Idle  land  lots  and  back  yards  that  the  School  Garden  Army 
in  cities  obtained  its  remarkable  results  during  the  war.     At 

the  present  time  the  utilization  of  such  waste  spaces  might  do 
much  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  for  many  in  our  cities ;  and 
"everyone  who  creates  or  cultivates  a  garden  helps,  and  helps 
greatly,  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  feeding  of  the  nations."  ^ 

Make  a  report  on  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  (See 
Readings  at  end  of  chapter). 

1  President  Wilson  in  his  appeal  to  citizens  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES 


377 


Is  there  an  agricultural  college  in  your  state?  If  so,  where  is  it ?  Report 
on  its  work  (send  for  its  catalogue  and  other  publications). 

Is  there  an  agricultural  experiment  station  in  your  state?  Where? 
Send  for  its  recent  reports. 

Report  on  the  operation  of  the  Smith-Lever  Act  in  your  state. 

Report  on  the  use  of  vacant  lots  and  back  yards  in  your  city  for  food 
production  —  extent  and  possibilities. 


Desert  Land 
Covered  with  sagebrush;  capable  of  irrigation.   U.S.  Reclamation  Service 

Much  of   our  public  land  has  been   non-productive    solely 

because  of  a  lack  of  moisture.      In  1902  a  law  known  as  the 

Reclamation  Act  was  passed  by  Congress,  providing   Reclamation 

that  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  in   of  arid 

states  containing  arid  regions/  except  such  as  were 

already   devoted   to   educational   and   other   public   purposes, 

•  The  states  to  which  this,  law  applies  are  Arizona,  California,  Colorado,  Idaho, 
Kansas,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma, 
Oregon,  South  Dakota,  Utah,  Washington,  an^  Wyoming.     See  map. 


378  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

should  be  used  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  irriga- 
tion works.  This  reclamation  work  is  in  charge  of  the  Recla- 
mation Service  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  whose  engi- 
neers have  built  great  dams  and  reservoirs  from  which  the  water 
has  been  led  by  canals  and  ditches  into  the  desert.  By  19 16 
more  than  1,000,000  acres  had  been  irrigated  under  this  act, 
the  crop  value  in  that  year  reaching  $35,000,000.  The  re- 
claimed land  is  disposed  of  to  actual  settlers  in  accordance  with 
the  homestead  laws  (see  page  371),  each  homesteader  repaying 
the  government  in  annual  installments  the  cost  of  reclaiming 
the  land  he  occupies.  The  fund  so  created  is  used  by  the 
government  for  further  reclamation  projects.  The  principal 
irrigation  projects  of  the  Reclamation  Service  are  shown  on 
the  accompanying  map. 

The  Yuma  project  in  Arizona  opened  a  new  Valley  of  the  Nile  where  four 
crops  of  alfalfa  are  now  raised  on  what  once  were  arid  lands.  The  streets 
of  Yuma  and  Somerton  are  crowded  with  the  automobiles  of  farmers, 
enriched  by  thousands  of  acres  of  splendid  long-staple  cotton,  alfalfa,  corn, 
and  feterita.  Another  irrigated  valley  in  Arizona,  that  of  the  Salt  River,  has 
few  superiors  in  the  world  and  has  come  in  three  years  into  great  prosperity. 
Arizona  planted  to  cotton  last  year  92,000  acres.  Its  crop  was  96  per  cent 
perfect,  the  best  record  in  the  United  States.^ 

There  are  probably  80,000,000  acres  of  swamp  lands  in  the 

United  States  which  could  be  made  productive  by  drainage. 

The  national   government   has   at    various   times 
Swamp  lands  ,  ,  .       , 

granted   to   the   states   swamp  lands  aggregatmg 

60,000,000  acres,  with   the  expectation  that  the  states  would 

reclaim  them.     The  states  have,  however,  done  very  little  to 

fulfill  the  expectation.     Farmers  themselves  could  reclaim  much 

of  this  land  at  comparatively  small  cost,  greatly  increasing  their 

own  profit  and  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

Report  on  the  work  of  the  Reclamation  Service  of  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  (see  Readings). 

1  Arthur  D.  Little,  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Allantic  Monthly,  March,  1919. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  379 

If  you  live  in  one  of  the  states  to  which  the  Reclamation  Act  applies, 
report  on  what  has  been  accomplished  by  it  in  your  state. 

Select  one  of  the  irrigation  projects  shown  on  the*map  (page  380)  and 
make  a  report  on  it. 

What  irrigation  work  has  been  done  in  your  state  (if  any)  by  state  or 
private  enterprises? 


Oats  Harvested  in  Reclaimed  Desert  Land,  Wyoming 
U.S.  Reclamation  Service 

Report  the  story  of  the  reclamation  of  Utah  by  the  Mormons. 
Report  on  any  important  swamp  reclamation  that  may  have  occurred, 
or  that  might  be  possible,  in  your  state. 

Our  unused  water  resources  are  very  great.     Niagara  Falls 
have  been  harnessed  for  industrial  uses,  and  with  only  a  small 
part  of  their  power  in  use  they  light  the  streets   conservation 
and  houses,   run   the   street   cars,   and   turn   the   of  water 
wheels  of  industry  in  Buffalo  and  Toronto  and  the   p°^^'' 
neighboring  region.     But  so  far  we  are  making  use  of  less  than 


38o 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


lo  per  cent  of  the  power  easily  available  from  our  streams. 
"The  water  now  flowing  idly  from  our  hills  to  the  sea  could  turn 
every  factory  wheel  and  every  electric  generator,  operate  our 
railroads,  and  still  leave  much  energy  to  spare  for  new  develop- 


Principal  Reclamation  Service  Projects  in  the  Western  States 


ments. "  ^  Our  nation  has  allowed  many  of  the  best  water 
power  sites  of  the  country  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  private 
speculators  who  hold  them  undeveloped,  as  in  the  case  of  farm 
lands,  forests,  and  other  resources. 

1  Arthur  D.  Little,  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  Maxch,  1919, 
p.  388. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES 


381 


Floods   are   not   only   immensely   destructive   of   property, 
(see  p.  27,1,),  but  they  carry  to  the  sea  water  that  might  be  used 
for  irrigation  and  for  industry.     Reservoirs,   such    conservation 
as  are  built  for  irrigating  projects,   regulate  the  of  flood 
flow   of   water   in    streams    and    prevent    floods.   ^*  ^^^ 
In  New  England  and  New  York  reservoirs  have  been  built 


Roosevelt  Dam  —  Salt  River  Project 
U.  S.  Reclamation  Service 


for  this  very  purpose,  and  probably  10  per  cent  of  the  flood 

waters  that  originate  in  these  states  is  saved  in  this  way  and 

turned  to  industrial  uses.    Similar  conservation  of  flood  waters 

occurs  in  Minnesota,  but  it  is  estimated  that  for  the  country 

as  a  whole  not  more  than  one  per  cent  of  the  flood  waters  is 

saved. ^    There  are  areas  in  which  the  reservoir  system  is  im- 

1  "Conservation  of  Water  Resources,"  Water  Supply  Paper  234,  U.S.  Geological 
Survey,  1919. 


382 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


practicable,  as  in  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley.  Here  all  that 
can  be  done  is  to  protect  the  adjacent  land  by  means  of  levees 
while  controlling  the  floods  farther  up  the  valley. 

Larger  use  of  water  power  would  conserve  another  valuable 
resource  —  coal.     Of  this  fuel  we  have  vast  resources  —  "in 


Harnessing  the  Mississippi 
Power  House  at  Keokuk,  Iowa 


West  Virginia  alone  more  than  Great  Britain  and  Germany 
combined."  But  the  supply  is^not  inexhaustible,  and  we  are 
Fuel  mining  it  and  using  it  in  an  extravagant  manner, 

resources  'pj^g  ^Qgg  here  is  not  merely  of  heat  and  power  and 
light,  but  of  many  valuable  by-products  of  coal,  including  dyes, 
ammonia,  vaseline,  and  many  others. 

To  what  extent  is  water  power  used  in  industry  in  your  city  and  state? 
Is  its  use  increasing?  What  and  where  are  its  sources?  Are  there  any 
projects  for  its  development? 

To  what  extent  are  water  power  sites  in  your  vicinity  or  state  owned  by 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES 


383 


private  parties?  To  what  extent  are  they  controlled  by  city,  state,  or 
national  government  ? 

Debate  the  question :  All  water  power  sites  should  be  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  government. 

Report  on  the  loss  from  periodic  floods  in  your  vicinity  or  state.  What 
steps  are  taken  to  prevent  it? 

Report  on  the  control  of  floods  in  the  Mississippi  River. 


Wallace,  Idaho 
Destroyed  by  Forest  Fire 


In  1 89 1  Congress  authorized  the  President  to  estabhsh 
"forest  reserves,"  the  first  to  be  created  being  the  "Yellowstone 
Park  Timberland  Reserve."  From  time  to  time  xhe  forest 
new  reserves  were  established,  and  in  1907  the  reserves 
name  was  changed  to  "National  Forests."  In  191 7,  rnore 
than  176,000,000  acres  were  included  within  the  National  Forest 
boundaries.  They  are  administered  by  the  Forest  Service 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  at  the  head  of  which  is 
the  Chief  Forester. 


384  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  purpose  of  the  Forest  Service  is  to  secure  the  use  of  the 
forests  "in  such  a  way  that  they  will  yield  all  their  resources 
Work  of  ^°  ^^^  fullest  extent  without  exhausting  them,  for 

the  Forest       the  benefit  primarily  of  the  home  builder.     The 
ervice  controlling  policy  is  serving  the  public  while  con- 

serving the  forests."  ^  Timber  is  cut  and  sold,  but  always 
with  a  view  to  developing  future  growth.  The  forests  are 
protected  against  fire.  Burned-over  areas  are  reforested  by 
planting.  Water  power  sites  are  protected.  The  freest  pos- 
sible use  of  forest  pasture  land  is  permitted,  but  under  such 
regulations  as  to  prevent  injury  to  the  forests  and  the  denudation 
of  the  land  by  overgrazing. 

Waste  of  ^^^   ^^^   timber  resources  are   not   all   in   the 

timber  National  Forests,  and  outside  of  them  the  waste 

resources         continues  to  an  appalling  extent. 

With  a  total  annual  cut  of  40,000,000,000  feet,  board-measure,  of  mer- 
chantable lumber,  another  70,000,000,000  feet  are  wasted  in  the  field  and 
at  the  mill.  In  the  yellow-pine  belt  the  values  in  rosin,  turpentine,  ethyl 
alcohol,  pine  oil,  tar,  charcoal,  and  paper  stock  lost  in  the  waste  are  three 
or  four  times  the  value  of  the  lumber  produced.  Enough  yellow-pine 
pulp-wood  is  consumed  in  burners,  or  left  to  rot,  to  make  double  the  total 
tonnage  of  paper  produced  in  the  United  States. 

But  the  wastes  in  lumbering,  colossal  though  they  are  in  absolute  amount 
are  trivial  compared  to  the  losses  which  our  estate  has  suffered,  and  still 
endures,  from  forest  fires.  The  French  properly  regard  as  a  national  calam- 
ity the  destruction  of  perhaps  a  thousand  square  miles  of  their  fine  forests 
by  German  shells.  And  yet  the  photographs  that  they  show  of  this  wreck 
and  utter  demolition  may  be  reproduced  indefinitely  on  10,000,000  acres  of 
our  forest  lands  swept  each  year  by  equally  devastating  fire  for  which  our 
own  people  are  responsible.  You  have  doubtless  already  forgotten  that 
forest  fire  which  last  autumn,  in  Minnesota,  burned  over  an  area  half  as 
large  again  as  Massachusetts,  destroying  more  than  twenty-five  towns,  kill- 
ing 400  people,  and  leaving  13,000  homeless. 2 

1  "The  Status  of  Forestry  in  the  United  States,"  Forest  Service  Circular  167, 
igog,  p.  5. 

2  "Developing  the  Estate,"  Atlaniic  Monthly,  March,  igig,  pp.  384-385. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  385 

The  nation  has  been  defrauded  of  a  great  deal  of  wealth  in 
timber  by  speculators  who  have  taken  advantage  of  the  home- 
stead laws. 

Single  tracts  of  160  acres  often  have  a  value  for  the  timber  alone,  of 
$20,000.  .  .  .  Lands  acquired  .  .  .  under  the  guise  of  the  homestead  law 
are  to-day  in  the  hands  of  lumber  companies  who  promptly  purchased  them 
from  the  settlers  as  soon  as  the  title  passed,  and  are  either  reserving  them 
for  later  cutting  or  are  holding  the  land  itself  after  cutting  for  from  $40 
to  $60  an  acre,  or  even  more  —  a  speculative  process  which  effectively  pre- 
vents the  possibility  of  men  of  small  means  acquiring  and  establishing 
homes  there.  ^ 

To  prevent  this  sort  of  thing,  the  government  now  sells  the 
timber  and  the  land  separately,  withholding  from  agricultural 
entry  heavily  timbered  land  until  the  timber  is  cut  off. 

Besides  the  National  Forests,  there  are  more  than  4,000,000 
acres  of  state  forests.     Twenty-four    states    have 
forestry   departments,    sometimes    under  a   state 
board  or  a  commission,  sometimes  under  the  control  of  a  single 
state  forester. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  work  of  the  Forest  Service  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  (see  Readings). 

Locate  and  describe  any  state  forests  that  may  exist  in  your  state. 

Write  a  theme  on  the  life  of  a  forest  ranger. 

Report  on  the  National  Park  Service  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
(see  Readings).  Locate  some  of  the  more  important  National  Parks  on  the 
map.  Write  to  the  National  Park  Serrice,  Department  of  the  Interior,  and 
to  the  National  Parks  Association,  Washington,  for  literature  descriptive 
of  our  National  Parks. 

Report  on  the  purposes  and  methods  of  forestry.  Is  forestry  taught 
in  your  state  agricultural  college  or  state  university? 

No  country  in  the  world  is  more  richly  endowed  with  mineral 
resources  than  the  United  States ;    but  this  endowment  is  by 
no  means  inexhaustible,  although  we  have  been   Mineral 
inclined  to  treat  it  as  if  it  were.     We  have  been  as  resources 
wasteful  of  it  as  we  have  been  of  the  soil ;  and  mineral  deposits 

1 "  The  National  Forests  and  the  Farmer,"  in  Year  Book,  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, 1914,  p.  70. 


386 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


once  exhausted  cannot  be  replaced,  while  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
can  be  restored,  and  forests  replanted. 

Mineral  lands,  like  farming  and  timber  lands,  have  been 
disposed  of  to  individuals  and  groups  of  individuals  for  a  mere 
Conservation  song,  and  have  then  been  exploited  for  private 
movement  profit,  often  in  the  most  wasteful  manner.  For 
many  years  patriotic  citizens  have  been  calling  attention  to 


Courtesy  American  Magazine  of  Art 
"The  Prospector" 
After  a  painting  by  Allen  True 

this  waste,  and  serious  efforts  have  been  made  to  secure  legis- 
lation for  the  conservation  of  these  resources,  but  with  only 
partial  success.  In  the  last  few  years  large  areas  of  public 
land  containing  coal  and  other  minerals  have  been  withdrawn 
from  sale  by  the  government  until  careful  surveys  of  their 
contents  could  be  made  and  legislation  secured  to  control 
more  effectively  their  disposal  or  use.  One  plan  is  to  lease  such 
lands,  instead  of  selling  them,  to  persons  who  would  develop 
their  resources.  A  royalty  of  a  few  cents  a  ton  paid  by  operators 
of  coal  mines  to  the  government  would  bring  enormous  revenue 
tt)  the  nation. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  387 

It  is  said  that  for  every  ton  of  anthracite  coal  mined,  a  ton  or 

more  is  wasted   through  uneconomic  methods  of  mining.     A 

similar  waste  occurs  in  the  mining  of  other  minerals. 

Waste  of  fuel 
There  is  also  great  loss  through  imperfect  methods 

of  reducing  metals  from  their  ores.  In  the  case  of  coal,  there 
is  enormous  waste  in  factories  and  homes  through  imperfect 
combustion.  "It  is  estimated  that  20,000,000  tons  of  coal  go 
up  the  chimneys  in  smoke  each  year."  This  is  in  large  part 
unnecessary.  During  the  recent  war  we  had  our  attention 
called  sharply  to  the  waste  of  fuel  by  unnecessary  illumination 
of  our  streets,  dwellings  and  business  places.  Here  is  one  point 
where  each  of  us  can  help  to  conserve  our  national  fuel  supply 
—  by  seeing  that  gas  and  electric  lights  are  not  left  burning 
when  not  needed. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment is  performing  a  great  service,  so  far  as  existing  laws  permit, 

for  the  conservation  of  our  mineral  resources.     The   o     •       t  ,.u 

Service  of  the 

Land  Office,  in  this  Department,  has  the  disposal  Department 
of  public  mineral  lands  as  well  as  of  public  farm  °*  *^^  ^''*^"°'^ 
lands.  The  Geological  Survey  is  engaged  in  examining  and 
mapping  mineral  resources  of  all  kinds,  classifying  the  public 
lands  with  respect  to  their  mineral  contents,  placing  a  value 
upon  them,  and  making  various  kinds  of  studies  of  these  re- 
sources. The  Bureau  of  Mines  studies  "problems  in  the  mining 
industry  in  order  that  it  may  be  carried  on  with  greater  efficiency, 
profit  to  industry  and  society,  and  under  the  best  conditions 
for  the  safety  and  health  of  the  miner.  .  .  .  Much  of  the  work 
of  the  bureau  is  directed  toward  securing  greater  economy 
and  efficiency  in  the  use  of  fuels.  .  .  ."  During  the  past  year 
(1920)  the  Department  of  the  Interior  has  been  conducting 
a  survey  of  the  region  between  Boston  and  Washington  to 
determine  the  practicability  of  electrifying  the  industries  and 
railroads  of  this  region  by  utilizing  the  water  power  available, 
and  thus  effecting  a  great  saving  in  fuel,  materials,  and  labor. 


388  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

While  this  region  is  a  very  small  part  of  the  United  States,  it 
produces  nearly  half  of  the  manufactured  products  of  the 
country.  "  It  is  properly  termed  the  finishing  shop  of  American 
industry."  ^ 


The  Coal  Miner 

The  great  majority  of  persons  who  invest  their  savings  .   .   .   are  unconscious  of 
the  men  who  labor  to  make  their  investment  profitable. 

"It  is  not  a  figure  of  speech  to  say  that  every  American  has 
it  in  his  heart  that  he  is  in  a  small  sense  a  discoverer ;  that  he 
g,    .     .  is  joining  in  the  revelation  to  the  world  of  some- 

making  a  new  thing  that  it  was  not  before  aware  of  and  of  which 
^°^  it  may  some  day  make  use.     Men  work  for  what 

they  think  worth  while,  and  if  they  find  their  joy  in  proving 
that  land  has  coal,  or  will  raise  wheat,  or  that  a  refractory  ore 
may  be  reduced  at  a  practicable  cost,  and  tell  about  it  proudly, 
they  may  be  serving  themselves,  but  they  are  also  serving  the 

» Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for  1920,  pp.  4,  5. 


OUR  LAND  AND  ITS  RESOURCES  389 

world.  The  clerk  in  the  store  or  the  mechanic  in  a  mill  may  not 
consciously  engage  in  any  enterprise  which  makes  this  appeal, 
but  when  he  learns  that  the  Government  of  which  he  is  a  part 
has  within  the  year  opened  a  town  on  the  shores  of  the  North 
Pacific  which  now  has  nearly  3000  inhabitants,  and  has  driven 
a  railroad  nearly  40  miles  inland  toward  the  Arctic  Circle  on 
its  way  to  the  coal  fields  of  the  Matanuska  and  the  gold  fields 
of  Tanana,  he  has  a  feeling  that  he,  too,  is  participating  in  the 
making  of  this  new  world."  ^ 

Make  class  reports  on  the  topics  suggested  in  the  references  to  Lessons 
in  Community  and  National  Life  in  the  Readings  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

Watch  the  newspapers  and  magazines  for  new  development  and  use  of 
resources. 

Follow  current  legislation  in  Congress  with  reference  to  the  public  lands 
and  the  conservation  of  natural  resources. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  work  of  your  state  government  for  the 
conservation  of  natural  resources  (soil,  forests,  minerals,  fish  and  game,  water 
power). 

READINGS 

Dunn,  Community  Civics  and  Rural  Life,  chaps,  xiv,  xv  (contains  some  additional 

material). 
Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A :  Lesson    4,  What  Nature  Has  Done  for  a  Typical  City. 
Lesson  13,  The  United  States  Food  Administration. 
Lesson  14.  Substitute  Foods. 
Series  B :  Lesson    5,  Saving  the  Soil. 

Lesson    6,  Making  Dyes  from  Coal  Tar. 
Lesson    9,  How  Men  Made  Heat  to  Work. 
Lesson  13,  The  Department  of  the  Interior. 
Series  C :  Lesson    4,  Petroleum  and  Its  Uses. 

Lesson  5,  Conservation  as  Exemplified  by  Irrigation  Projects. 
Lesson  6,  Checking  Waste  in  the  Production  and  Use  of  Coal. 
Lesson  10,  Iron  and  Steel. 

Lesson  14,.  The  United  States  Fuel  Administration. 
Lesson  16,  The  Commercial  Economy  Board  of  the  Council  of  National 
Defense. 
Other  Government  Publication?: 

Proceedings  of  a  Conference  of  Governors  at  the  White  House,  1908  (Government 
Printing  Office). 

'  Report  of  the  Secretary  ot  the  Interior,  1915,  pp.  2,  3. 


390  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Report  of  the  National  Conservation  Commission,  1909  (Senate  Document  676, 

60th  Congress.     Government  Printing  Office.) 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.     (That  for  1915,  pp.  1-30,  con- 
tains an  interesting  review  of  our  natural  resources  and  their  use ;   also  pp.  151- 

2og,  a  comprehensive  and  interesting  discussion  of  our  mineral  resources  and 

their  development.) 
PubUcations  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  the  Reclamation 

Service,  the  General  Land  Ofhce,  the  National  Park  Service  —  all  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior. 
Publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Department  of  Commerce. 
PubUcations  of  the  Forestry  Service,  Department  of  Agriculture. 
PubHcations  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.     Such  as. 

Farmers'  Bulletin  340,  Declaration  ot  Governors  for  conservation. 

Year  Book,  19 14,  65-88,  The  National  Forests  and  the  Farmer. 

Year  Book,  1916,  301-310,  Resources  of  Potash. 

Year  Book,  igi6,  177-198,  Agriculture  and  Reclamation  Projects. 

Year  Book,  1916,  107-134,  Farms,  Forests,  and  Erosion. 

Year  Book,  1915,  147-154,  Unprofitable  Acres. 
Many  books  and  articles  have  been  written  on  the  subject  of  conservation.     Con- 
sult your  public  library.     A  few  good  titles  are : 

Van  Hise,  C.  R.,  The  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  the  United  States. 

Pinchot,  Gifi'ord,    The  Fight  for  Conservation. 

Cronan,  R.,  Our  Wasteful  Nation. 

Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics,  401-416. 

American  Year  Book. 


CHAPTER  XXT 
PROPERTY  RIGHTS 

When  a  thief  or  vandal  takes  or  destroys  another  person's 
property,  the  loss  of  the  property  is  not  the  worst  thing  that 
happens,    but    the    attack    uj;.on   property   rights,   ^j^^  sacred- 
The  right  to  security  in  one's  possessions  is  among  ness  of  prop- 
the  most  saclred  rights   of  a  free  people,   being  ^^  ^  "^    ^ 
classed  with  the  right  to  life,  the  right  of  free  speech,  the  right 
of  petition,  the  right  to  freedom  of  religion.     It  is  by  securing 
these  rights  that  the  law  makes  us  free.     The  sacred  right  to 
property  is  as  truly  violated  by  one  who  steals  a  nickel  as  by  one 
who  robs  a  bank  of  a  thousand  dollars,  by  one  who  ruins  our 
flower  bed  as  well  as  by  one  who  burns  our  house.     The  amount 
has  nothing  to  do  with  it.     The  tax  which  the  English  govern- 
ment imposed  on  tea  imported  by  the  American  colonists  was 
not  a  heavy  tax,  but  the  colonists  objected  because  it  was 
imposed  without  their  consent. 

People  have  not  always  and  everywhere  enjoyed  full  right  to 
individual  ownership  of  property.  Land  occupied  by  American 
Indians,  for  example,  was  the  property  of  the  clan,  DeveioDment 
or  tribe,  and  not  of  individuals.  Even  the  game  of  property 
that  an  Indian  hunter  killed  belonged  to  the  group  "^  *^ 
and  not  to  him  alone.  The  same  was  true  of  the  maize  and 
other  crops  that  agricultural  Indians  raised ;  they  were  stored 
in  a  common  storehouse  and  distributed  among  the  members 
of  the  clan  according  to  needs.  This  constitutes  what  is  known 
as  communal  ownership  —  ownership  in  common. 

There  are  people  to-day,  known  as  communists,  who  believe  that  com- 
munal ownership  is  feasible  and  desirable.     Various  experiments  in  this 

391 


392  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

direction  have  been  tried  in  the  United  States  and  other  civilized  countries, 
but  few  of  them  have  met  with  any  high  degree  of  success. 

Among  the  American  Indians,  however,  a  certain  amount  of 
personal  property  came  into  being.  The  hunter  owned  his 
bow  and  spear  —  that  is,  his  weapons :  these  could  not  well  be 
owned  in  common.  So,  also,  the  woman  acquired  personal  owner- 
ship of  household  utensils,  and  even  of  the  rude  dwelling  itself, 
of  which  she  was  undisputed  mistress.  Thus  we  have  the 
beginnings  of  individual  ownership  of  personal  property. 

A  similar  development  of  property  rights  occurred  among  our 
European  ancestors.  Land  in  England,  for  example,  was  once 
p  .  held  communally.     When  England  was  conquered 

ownership  by  foreign  kings,  these  took  possession  of  the  land 
of  land  jj^  their  own  name,  and  proceeded  to  distribute  large 

shares  to  their  nobles,  and  these,  in  turn,  to  their  favorites. 
Thus  we  have  the  beginning  of  large  landed  estates  in  England. 
As  for  the  conquered  peoples  who  lived  on  the  land,  they  merely 
had  the  use  of  parcels  of  land  allotted  to  them  by  their  lords. 
When  America  was  discovered,  its  discoverers  took  possession  of 
the  land  in  the  name  of  their  sovereigns,  who  then  granted 
large  areas  to  court  favorites,  or  to  commercial  companies,  who 
in  time  disposed  of  most  of  it  to  colonists. 

Thus  the  right  to  individual  ownership  of  property  has  been 
only  gradually  acquired;  but  once  acquired,  it  has  been  jealously 
guarded  against  infringement,  not  only  by  other 
guarant'ees"*  individuals,  but  also  by  government  itself.  The 
of  property  Revolutionary  War  was  fought  in  defense  of  this 
"^    ^  and  other  rights  against  violation  by  the  English 

government.  When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
framed  the  people  refused  to  ratify  it  unless  amendments  were 
added  guaranteeing  these  rights.  Thus  it  was  provided  that 
"no  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law"  (Amendment  III) ;   that  "the 


PROPERTY  RIGHTS  393 

right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall 
not  be  violated  ..."  (Amendment  IV);  that  "no  person 
shall  be  .  .  .  deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use  without  just  compensation"  (Amendment  V).  The  Consti- 
tution also  provides  that  "no  state  shall  .  .  .  pass  any  .  .  . 
law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts"  (Art.  I,  sec.  10, 
clause  i),  and  in  various  other  ways  protects  our  property 
rights.  Our  state  constitutions  contain  many  similar  pro- 
visions. 

How  are  property  rights  guaranteed  in  your  state  constitution? 

Read  the  charges  made  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  against  the 
king  of  England  with  respect  to  the  violation  of  property  rights. 

In  what  ways  was  it  charged  that  Germany  violated  our  property  rights 
prior  to  our  entrance  into  the  World  War? 

Are  property  rights  as  sacred  in  time  of  war  as  in  time  of  peace? 

Study  and  report  on  (i)  the  development  of  private  property  in  land  in 
England;   (2)  in  colonial  America. 

What  can  you  find  out  about  the  conception  of  property  among  the 
American  Indians? 

Look  up  the  story  of  Robert  Owen,  English  communist,  and  the  founding 
of  New  Harmony  in  America  (see  encyclopedia). 

What  can  you  find  out  about  experiments  in  communism  in  Russia  since 
the  recent  war? 

If  your  father  owns  a  piece  of  land  he  doubtless  has  a  deed 
for  it,  containing  an  accurate  description  of  the  land  and  giving 
him  title  to  ownership.     If  he  bu^s  a  house  he  protecting 
gets  a  deed  for  it;   if  he  sells  one,  he  gives  a  deed  ownership 
to   the   purchaser.     In  each  county   there   is   an 
office  of  government  where  all  deeds  are  recorded — the  office  of 
the  recorder  or  register  of  deeds.     The  record  of  every  piece  of 
land  is  thus  kept  and  is  open  to  examination  by  any  one.     If  a 
man  wishes  to  buy  a  piece  of  land  he  will  go  to  the  office  of  the 
recorder  and  find  out  whether  the  title  to  the  land  is  clear.     Only 
by  so  doing  may  he  be  protected  against  error  or  fraud. 


394  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Since  property  is  likely  to  change  hands  a  number  of  times, 
and  since  men  frequently  mortgage  their  property  as  security 
Transfers  for  loans  or  other  indebtedness,   thus  giving  to 

of  land  others  a  claim  to  it,  it  is  sometimes  a  tedious  and 

difficult  task  for  a  buyer  to  trace  the  record  back  and  to  be 
sure  that  the  title  is  clear.  It  sometimes  requires  months. 
There  are  lawyers  who  make  a  business  of  examining  the  records 
and  making  abstracts  of  titles.  This  involves  expense.  Besides, 
there  is  always  the  chance  that  a  mistake  may  be  made  some- 
where. For  this  reason  some  states  have  adopted  a  plan  known 
as  the  Torrens  System  of  land  transfer,  from  the  name  of  the 
man  who  devised  it  in  Australia. 

Under  the  Torrens  System  the  government  itself,  through  its  proper  officer, 
may  examine  the  title  to  any  piece  of  land.  The  land  is  then  registered,  and 
the  owner  is  given  a  certificate  as  evidence.  If  a  mortgage  is  placed  on  the 
land,  or  if  it  changes  hands,  the  transaction  is  recorded  on  the  certificate 
and  in  the  office  records.  A  mere  glance  at  the  record  of  registry  or  at  the 
certificate  is  sufficient  to  ascertain  the  title  to  the  land.  Thus  time  and  ex- 
pense are  saved ;  and  moreo\'er  the  government  gives  its  absolute  guarantee 
to  the  owner  or  buyer  as  to  his  rights  in  the  land. 

The  Torrens  System  is  in  use  in  some  form  in  fourteen  states  of  the  Union, 
in  the  Philippines  and  Hawaii,  and  in  various  other  countries  of  the  world. 

Has  your  father  a  deed  to  the  property  you  occupy?  If  so,  ask  him  to 
show  it  to  you  and  explain  it.     How  is  the  land  described? 

At  the  first  convenient  time,  make  a  visit  to  the  office  of  the  recorder  of 
deeds  in  your  county,  and  ask  to  have  some  of  the  records  shown  and 
explained  to  you,  preferably  the  record  of  the  property  you  occupy.  Where 
is  the  office  of  the  recorder? 

What  is  a  mortgage  ?     An  abstract  of  title  ?     (Consult  parents.) 

Is  the  Torrens  System  in  use  in  your  state  ? 

We  have  seen  that  no  person  may  be  deprived  of  property 
by  the  government  "without  due  process  of  law."  This 
The  service  means  that  the  procedure  provided  by  law  must 
of  the  courts  ^g  followed,  and  that  the  citizen  whose  property 
is  taken  may  have  his  side  of  the  case  presented,-  the  value  of 
the  property  in  question  appraised  by  impartial  judges,  and  so 


PROPERTY  RIGHTS 


395 


on.     It  is  the  business  of  the  courts  to  see  that  justice  is  done. 
See  pages  511-515. 

The  community  has  certain  rights  to  a  citizen's  land  that 
are  clearly  recognized  as  superior  to  the  citizen's  rights.  Acting 
through  its  government,  it  may  take  a  part  of  a  citizen's  property 
by  taxation  (see  Chapter  XXIII).     Taxes  are  paid  in  money; 


The  Right  or  EiuxEXT  Domaen 

The  building  on  the  left  is  to  be  removed  to  make  way  for  the  construction  of  a 

highway  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa  (see  p.  258).    The  new  building  under  construction 

on  the  right  will  face  the  new  highway,  and  the  property  on  which  it  stands  has 

increased  in  value  almost  over  night  from  $50.00  to  $200.00  a  front  foot  (see  p.  266). 

but  if  a  citizen  does  not  pay  the  tax  upon  his  land,  the  govern- 
ment may  sell  the  land  for  enough  to  cover  the  obligation. 

Again,  the  government  may  take  a  citizen's  land  for  public 
uses,  if  the  interests  of  the  community  demand  it,  by  what  is 
called  the  right  of  eminent  domain.     For  example,  ^j^^  .^^ 
if  the  interests  of  the  community  demand  that  a  of  eminent 
new  road  be  built,  or  a  new  street  laid  out,  the 
government  will  seek  to  buy  the  necessary  land  from  the  prop- 
erty  owners   along    the   line   of   the   proposed   improvement. 
Some  property  owner  may  say  that  he  does  not  want  the  road 


396  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

or  street  to  run  through  his  land,  or  he  may  try  to  get  a  price 
beyond  what  his  land  is  worth.  The  government  may  then 
condemn  the  required  land  and  fix  a  price  despite  the  property 
owner's  objections.  The  citizen  whose  land  is  taken  must, 
however,  be  paid  for  it ;  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
protects  him  by  the  provision,  "nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation"  (Amendment 
V,  last  clause). 

The  right  of  eminent  domain  may  be  exercised  to  secure  a 
site  for  a  schoolhouse,  a  post  office,  an  army  post,  a  court- 
house, or  for  any  other  public  purpose.  The  government  also 
authorizes  corporations  that  perform  a  public  service  to  exer- 
cise the  right,  as  in  the  case  of  railroads  which  must  obtain 
a  right  of  way  for  their  tracks,  and  sites  for  their  yards  and 
stations. 

What  instances  of  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain  in  your 
community  can  you  give? 

The  government  may  control  the  use  to  which  a  citizen  may 
put  his  property,  and  even  destroy  it  in  time  of  emergency,  by 
The  police  what  is  known  as  the  police  power.  The  police 
power  power  is  a  somewhat  vague  power  that  has  never 

been  strictly  defined,  but  it  is  a  very  great  power.  It  has  been 
stated  as  the  power  "to  prescribe  regulations  to  promote  the 
health,  peace,  morals,  education,  and  good  order  of  the  people, 
and  to  legislate  so  as  to  increase  the  industries  of  the  state, 
develop  its  resources,  and  add  to  its  wealth  and  its  prosperity." 
In  exercising  such  broad  powers,  however,  the  government  must 
have  regard  to  the  constitutional  provision  that  "no  state  shall 
make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or 
immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall  any  state 
deprive  any  person  of  .  .  .  property,  without  due  process  of 
law,"  or  "without  just  compensation."  In  these  constitutional 
provisions  on  the  one  hand,  and  in  the  police  power  on  the 
other,  we  have  balanced  against  each  other  the  liberties  of  the 


PROPERTY  RIGHTS  397 

individual  citizen  and  the  welfare  of  the  community.    To  pre- 
serve this  balance  is  a  delicate  task. 

The  delicate  balance  between  the  property  rights  of  an  individual  as 
guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  and  the  rights  of  others  as  protected  by  the 
police  power,  is  well  illustrated  by  a  recent  decision  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court.  During  the  war  Congress  and  some  of  the  state  legislatures 
passed  "rent  laws"  for  the  protection  of  tenants  against  profiteering  land- 
lords. It  was  a  time  when  it  was  practically  impossible  for  tenants  to  find 
new  living  quarters.  The  rent  laws  authorized  them  to  refuse  to  pay  in- 
creased rents  until  a  rent  commission  should  have  determmed  the  justice 
of  the  increase.  Landlords  denied  the  validity  of  these  laws  on  the  ground 
that  they  violated  their  property  rights  as  guaranteed  by  the  Consti- 
tution, and  brought  suit  in  the  courts  against  tenants  in  order  to  test  the 
matter.  Some  of  these  cases  finally  came  to  the  Supreme  Court  which  up- 
held the  law  by  a  vote  of  5  to  4.  By  four  of  the  Justices  of  the  Court  the 
law  was  held  to  deprive  the  landlord  of  property  in  an  unconstitutional 
manner;  but  the  majority  of  five  declared  it  to  be  a  proper  exercise  of  the 
police  power  for  the  protection  of  the  tenants.  The  decision  of  the  majority 
of  course  prevailed. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  community  may  permit  the  use  of 
public  property  by  private  corporations  to  enable  them  to 
perform  a  public  service,  such  as  providing  trans-  Granting 
portation,  electric  light  and  power,  gas,  water,  or  franchises 
telephone  and  telegraph  service.  These  are  known  as  public 
utilities.  For  the  performance  of  such  services,  the  corporation 
must  have  the  use  of  the  public  streets,  the  privilege  of  such  use 
being  known  as  a  franchise.    (See  Chapter  XV.) 

The  granting  of  franchises  in  American  cities  has  been  accom- 
panied by  grave  abuses.  The  services  performed  by  public 
utilities  corporations  are  highly  essential  to  the  life  Abuse  of 
of  a  city ;  but  in  granting  franchise  privileges  the  franchises 
interests  of  the  community  have  not  been  sufficiently  pro- 
tected. Public  service  corporations,  after  having  acquired  a 
monopoly  in  their  respective  lines  of  business,  have  often 
profiteered,  given  poor  service,  and  in  other  ways  abused  the  con- 
fidence reposed  in  them  by  the  people  or  their  government. 


398 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


They  have  often  exercised  a  corrupt  influence  over  the  govern- 
ment. A  franchise  is  an  extremely  valuable  form  of  property, 
and  it  has  very  often  happened  that,  in  disputes  between  the 
city  and  the  corporation,  the  courts  have  decided  in  favor  of  the 
corporation  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  public  interest,  on  the 
ground  that  to  do  otherwise  would  violate  the  property  rights 
of  the  corporation. 


Some  of  the  Things  Tii\t  Are  Under  the  Street 
Showing  sewers,  water  pipes   and  conduits  for  wires 


Cities  and  states  are  now  seeking  to  control  more  effectively 
the  granting  of  franchises  and  the  management  of  public 
Control  of  service  corporations  in  the  interest  of  t,he  public. 
Instead  of  leaving  the  granting  of  franchises  in  the 
hands  of  the  city  council  which,  in  large  cities,  has 
too  often  been  dominated  by  corrupt  influences,  this  power  is 
now  more  often  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  special  body  of  men 


public 
utilities 


PROPERTY  RIGHTS  399 

not  so  easily  controlled  by  such  influences.  In  many  cases,  also, 
the  granting  of  a  franchise  must  be  submitted  to  the  people 
for  their  vote.  Public  utilities  commissions  have  been  created 
to  regulate  such  matters  as  the  fixing  of  rates  that  may  be 
charged  for  the  service  rendered. 

Sacred  as  property  rights  are,  they  are  less  so  than  the  right 
to  ''life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  A  man  will 
usually  sacrifice  his  property  to  save  his  life,  to  preserve  his 
liberty,  or  to  secure  happiness.  A  normal  man  looks  upon 
property  merely  as  a  means  by  which  to  secure  these  other 
ends  for  himself  and  those  who  are  dependent  upon  him. 

Moreover,  one  man's  property  rights  are  not  so  sacred  as 
another  man's  rights  to  "life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness." That  is  to  say,  when  one  man's  property  rights  come 
into  conflict  with  the  physical,  spiritual,  or  social  well-being  of 
others,  the  latter  demand  first  consideration.  It  is  undoubtedly 
true,  however,  that  the  property  rights  of  one  group  have  often 
been  exalted  above  these  other  rights  of  other  groups  in  the 
community.  This  is  the  case  when  a  public  service  corporation 
is  protected  in  its  franchise  privileges  even  when  they  are 
detrimental  to  the  higher  interests  of  the  community;  or  when 
the  capitalist  or  employer  is  protected  in  his  property  rights  to 
the  obvious  physical  or  spiritual  injury  of  those  whom  he  em- 
ploys. 

What  instances  of  the  exercise  of  the  police  power  in  your  city  can  you 
give :  (i)  in  regulating  what  a  citizen  may  do  with  his  property;  (2)  in  the 
destruction  of  property  for  the  public  welfare? 

What  public  utilities  corporations  hold  franchises  in  your  city? 

What  abuses  of  franchise  privileges  are  reported  in  your  city? 

Who  has  the  power  to  grant  franchises  in  your  city?  Is  there  a  franchise 
"referendum"  in  your  city? 

Debate  the  question  :  "Resolved,  that  public  utilities  should  be  owned  and 
operated  by  the  city,  and  not  by  private  corporations." 


400  COMMUNITY    CIVICS 

READINGS 

Tufts,  James  H.,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  pp.  62-65,  137-140,  236-252. 
Beard   Charles  A.,  American  Citizenship,  chap,  v,  Property  Rights. 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  vii,  Franchises  and  Public  Util- 
ities; chap,  viii,  Municipal  Ownership. 
Encyclopedia,  under  etninent  domain,  police  power,  private  property. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

DEPENDENT,  DEFECTIVE,  AND  DELINQUENT  MEMBERS 
OF  THE  COMMUNITY 

In  every  community  there  are  some  members  who  are  not 
self-supporting  and  who  do  not  contribute  materially  to  the 
community's  progress  (see  Chapter  V  and  Chapter  XVI,  p.  288). 

Tbe  very  young  and  the  very  aged  come  within  this  group. 

Both  are  peculiarly  dependent  upon  others,  though    who  con- 

the  aged    may,  by    thrift  in  earher  years,   have   stitute  de- 

.,  ^'^  ,.,  ,        pendents,  de- 

acquired  a    competence  with  which  to  meet  the   fectives.  and 

needs   of  old  age;    and  the  young  are  expected,   delinquents 

in  later  years,  to  compensate  the  community  for  the  care  they 

have  received  from  others  during  childhood. 

There  are  those,  also,  of  all  ages,  who  are  incapacitated  for 
self-support  and  for  service  by  disease,  or  by  physical  or  mental 
defects  such  as  bodily  deformities,  blindness,  or  feeble-minded- 
ness.  In  addition,  there  are  some  who,  though  physically  able 
to  perform  service,  deliberately  prey  upon  the  community  in 
one  manner  or  another  without  giving  anything  in  return. 
The  latter  constitute  the  delinquent  class,  and  include  criminals. 

Normally,  the  needs  of  those  who  are  unable  to  support 
themselves,  whether  because  of  extreme  youth  or  old  age  or 
because  of  physical  or  mental  defects,  are  pro-    Relation  of 
vided  for  by  the  family.     It  frequently  happens,   the  family  to 
however,  that  the  family  is  unable  to  perform  this  *  ^  Problem 
service.    It  may  be  entirely  broken  up.    Children  may  be  left 
without  parents,  and  the  aged  without  children.     The  natural 
supporters  of  the  family  may  be  stricken  by  disease,  or  by 
accident,  or  by  financial  misfortune.     Moreover,   the  proper 

401 


402  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

care  and  treatment  of  many  defectives  require  better  facilities 
and  greater  skill  than  can  be  provided  even  by  well-to-do 
families.  Thus  a  class  of  dependents  is  produced  —  dependents 
upon  the  community  as  a  whole.  They  may  or  may  not  be 
defectives,  physical  or  mental. 

In  the  lower  stages  of  civilization  it  was  not  uncommon  for 
the  feeble  and  the  helpless  to  be  put  to  death,  even  sickly 
Treatment  in  children  and  persons  infifm  from  old  age.  This 
early  times  ^^g  done  in  the  name  of  community  interest. 
The  struggle  for  existence  was  so  severe  that  the  presence  of 
non-producing  or  non-fighting  members  endangered  the  entire 
group.  Besides,  it  was  the  belief  in  most  cases  that  the  sacrifice 
of  the  helpless  simply  hastened  their  passage  into  a  happier  life. 

Humane  considerations  now  prevent  such  treatment  of  the 
helpless.  Moreover,  with  our  increased  skill  in  medicine  and 
Reducing  the  surgery  and  education,  the  diseased  and  defective 
wastage  of  may  often  be  restored  to  health  or  fitted  for  some 
uman  i  e  form  of  self-support  that  makes  them  happier  and 
of  use  to  the  community.  The  wastage  of  human  life  has  been 
greatly  reduced  in  recent  years.  Many  of  the  soldiers  who  re- 
turned from  the  war  in  Europe  so  broken  in  body  or  mind  that 
in  former  times  they  would  have  dragged  out  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  a  burden  to  themselves  and  to  others  have,  by 
surgical  skill  and  special  forms  of  education,  been  restored 
wholly  or  partially  to  the  ranks  of  the  self-supporting  and  useful 
members  of  the  community.  This  rehabilitation  of  the  de- 
pendent and  defective  members  of  the  community,  whether 
their  misfortune  is  due  to  war  or  other  causes,  is  the  chief  aim  of 
the  treatment  given  them  by  the  community  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  an  accepted  principle  that  each  community  should,  so 
far  as  possible,  care  for  its  own  unfortunates.  The  effectiveness 
with  which  it  is  done  varies.  The  office  of  overseer  of  the  poor 
is  one  of  the  oldest  in  our  country  and  is  found  in  practically 
every  small  community  under  that  or  some  other  name.     His 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS      403 

duty  has  been  to  administer  relief,  usually  in  the  form  of  food, 
clothing,  or  fuel,  to  those  who  apply  or  of  whose  need  he  is  con- 
vinced. Cities  have  developed  a  more  elaborate  Responsi- 
organization  for  the  care  of  dependents,  centering  biiity  of  each 
in  a  department  of  charities, or  a  bureau  of  charities  '^°™™"'"  y 
within  the  department  of  health,  or  a  department  of  public 
welfare  which  includes  under  its  supervision  not  only  the  actual 
care  of  dependents,  but  also  health,  recreational,  and  other 
activities  designed  to  remove  the  causes  of  dependency.  At 
the  head  of  this  department  or  bureau  there  is  usually  a  commis- 
sioner of  charities  or  of  public  welfare. 

Some  cities  maintain  public  employment  offices  in  an  endeavor 
to  solve  the  problem  of  unemployment.  In  the  city  of  Dayton, 
Ohio,  an  employment  exchange  operated  co-  Employment 
operatively  by  the  city  and  state  governments  ^^^  lodging 
received  4,951  applications  for  work  in  1916,  referring  3,347  of 
these  to  positions  and  actually  placing  3,067.  Some  cities 
maintain  public  lodging  houses  where  temporary  shelter  is 
given  to  homeless  persons.  The  municipal  lodging  house  of 
New  York  City  in  191 5  provided  350,362  accommodations  to 
such  persons,  a  daily  average  of  960. 

It  provides  a  medical  clinic,  a  dental  clinic,  and  a  free  employment  bureau. 
Applicants  are  given  supper  and  breakfast,  bath,  fumigation  of  clothing, 
medical  examination  and  a  comfortable  bed  for  one  week,  during  which  time 
they  must  work,  if  able,  in  the  industrial  shops  or  gangs,  with  alternate  days 
off  to  seek  employment.  Dispossessed  famiHes,  mothers  with  babies,  and  the 
sick  and  aged  are  given  special  care.^ 

While  cities  thus  have  their  organization  and  institutions  for 
dealing   with   problems   of   poverty,    the   usual   governmental 
unit  for  administering  "poor  relief"  is  the  county   The  local 
or,  in  some  cases,  the  township.    The  county  ''  alms-   an'd^its"^^ 
house,"  or  "poor  farm,"  or  "infirmary,"  is  a  local   defects 
institution  for  this  purpose.    Even  cities  send  many  of  their  poor 

'  Municipal  Year  Book  of  the  City  of  New  York,  1916,  p.  97. 


404  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

to  this  county  institution.  Unfortunately  such  institutions  are 
often  badly  managed.  Men  and  women,  old  people  and  children, 
healthy  and  diseased,  blind  and  crippled,  moral  and  immoral, 
even  the  insane,  are  sometimes  housed  together,  mingling  with 
one  another  with  little  restriction.  The  evils  of  such  a  system 
are  apparent. 

Moreover,  the  policy  of  the  typical  almshouse  has  been 
merely  to  give  shelter  and  food  and  clothing  to  those  who  ap- 
Short-sighted  peal  for  it,  rather  than  to  remedy  the  causes  of 
P°''*^y  dependency  or  to  restore  the  unfortunate  to  a  basis 

of  self-support  and  usefulness.  Medical  treatment  is  of  course 
given  to  those  who  need  it,  but  the  means  do  not  exist  to  give 
special  expert  treatment  to  particular  classes  of  defectives. 
Little  educational  opportunity  worthy  of  the  name  is  afforded. 
While  able-bodied  inmates  usually  have  some  work  to  do,  it  is 
seldom  of  a  character  to  train  for  self-support  or  to  create 
habits  of  industry. 

To  provide  this  special  treatment  requires  elaborate  equipment 
and  expert  service,  which  cost  a  great  deal  of  money,  more  than 
Remedies  most  counties  or  towns  feel  that  they  can  afford, 
proposed  Communities  must  come  to  realize  that  they  cannot 

afford  to  neglect  their  unfortunate  members,  no  matter  what  it 
costs  to  care  for  them.  But  the  cost  need  not  be  so  great  as  it 
seems.  A  great  deal  of  money  is  now  wasted  on  almshouses 
without  adequate  results.  This  can  largely  be  remedied  by 
insisting  upon  more  expert  supervision  in  such  institutions,  and 
by  a  system  of  regular  inspection  by  expert  state  officers. 
Greater  care  should  be  exercised  with  respect  to  those  who  are 
admitted.  Only  the  deserving  should  be  allowed  to  live  on 
the  public  funds.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  some  classes  of 
shiftless  people  to  seek  shelter  in  the  alfnshouse  during  the  winter, 
where  they  live  in  comparative  comfort  and  idleness  at  the  public 
expense,  only  to  leave  in  the  spring  for  a  life  of  aimless  indolence, 
imposing  as  beggars  upon  kind-hearted  people. 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS      405 

Much  progress  has  been  made  recently  in  some  of  our  states 
in  methods  of  deaUng  with  problems  of  dependency  even  in  rural 
districts.     In   some   cases   county  welfare  boards   Q^^^^y  ^ej. 
have  been  created,  with  the  purpose  not  only  of    fare 
administering  more  effective  relief  to  those  who 
are  in  actual  need,  but  also  of  investigating  and  removing,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  causes  of  dependency.    Such  boards  employ 
trained  executives,  and  seek   to  unite  in  common  effort  all 
agencies  in  the  county  that  have  direct  interest  in  the  problem, 
such  as  the  health  ofhcers,  the  schools,  and  the  churches. 

The  county  almshouse  should  be  only  a  temporary  place  of 
detention  for  many  of  the  people  who  now  are  kept  there 
permanently.    Those  who  need  special  treatment    purpose  of 
or  training   should  be  passed  on   as  quickly  as    state  in- 
possible  to  special  institutions  that  are  equipped 
to  care  for  them.    Since  most  local  communities  could  not  well 
afford  to  maintain  such  institutions  for  the  comparatively  few 
who  would  need  them,  the  state  should  maintain  enough  of  them 
at  convenient  points  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  all  local  com- 
munities. 

The  states  do  maintain  such  institutions  —  hospitals  and 
sanitariums  for  those  suffering  from  various  types  of  physical 
and  mental  disease,  homes  for  orphans  and  for  the  aged,  and 
for  persons  with  incurable  diseases,  asylums  and  schools  for 
the  blind  and  the  deaf-and-dumb,  industrial  schools  'for  boys 
and  girls.  The  problem  of  the  state  is,  first,  to  develop  such 
institutions  to  the  highest  possible  degree  of  efhciency  for 
the  rehabilUation  of  their  patients  or  inmates,  and  second,  to 
secure  effective  cooperation  on  the  part  of  local  authorities  and 
institutions  in  transferring  those,  and  only  those,  who  are  entitled 
to  state  assistance.  In  some  states  each  of  these  state  institu- 
tions is  managed  independently  by  its  own  board  of  control, 
while  in  others  their  management  is  supervised  by  a  single 
state  board. 


4o6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

When  dependents  are  cared  for  in  institutions,  it  is  called 
indoor  relief;  when  they  are  cared  for  outside  of  institutions, 
Cooperation  ^^  their  homes,  it  is  called  outdoor  relief.  Outdoor 
for  "  out-  relief   requires   community   organization   and   co- 

operation and  expert  leadership  quite  as  much  as 
indoor  relief.  The  laxk  of  these  has  often  resulted  in  great  harm 
both  to  the  community  and  to  the  needy  person.  Promiscuous 
giving  of  charity  by  well-intentioned  persons  often  results 
in  giving  to  the  undeserving  as  well  as  to  the  deserving.  There 
are  lazy  and  shiftless  individuals  who  find  it  easier  to  live  on 
charity  than  by  honest  work,  and  whose  lack  of  self-respect 
permits  them  to  do  so.  Sometimes  they  do  so  by  fraudulent 
methods.  Giving  to  such  persons  encourages  pauperism  and 
fraud  instead  of  curing  it.  Kind-hearted  people  often  say 
that  they  would  rather  be  cheated  occasionally  by  dishonest 
applicants  for  charity  than  to  fail  to  help  the  really  needy  by 
too  great  caution.  The  answer  to  this  is  that  by  proper  com- 
munity organization  and  cooperation  the  needy  will  be  found 
with  much  greater  certainty,  the  fraudulent  will  be  detected, 
and  the  aid  given  to  those  who  should  have  it  will  be  much  more 
effective.  The  citizen  who  refers  an  applicant  for  aid  to  an 
effective  organization  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  serves  both  the 
applicant  and  the  community  better  than  by  attempting  to  give 
aid  directly.  A  few  pennies  or  dollars  given  even  to  a  worthy 
applicant  may  not  reach  the  root  of  the  trouble  at  all,  and  may 
be  the  innocent  cause  of  perpetuating  the  trouble. 

Many  voluntary  organizations  exist  for  charitable  and  philan- 
thropic purposes.  The  church  has  always  been  one  of  the  chief 
Voluntary  agencies  to  care  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate;' 
agencies  \^^^  there  are  many  others.    Sometimes  they  main- 

tain hospitals  and  other  institutions  for  the  treatment  of  those 
who  need  indoor  relief.  They  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good. 
But  they  are  subject  to  the  same  difficulties  that  individuals 
encounter  in  dealing  wisely  with  particular  cases.     They  are 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS       407 

frequently  deceived  by  impostors.  Seldom  do  they  have  expert 
investigators  to  follow  up  individual  cases  and  to  prescribe  the 
most  effective  remedy.  They  frequently  duplicate  one  another's 
work  in  a  wasteful  manner. 

This  lack  of  team  work  has  been  in  large  measure  remedied 
by  the  establishment  of  charity  organization  societies.  Such 
societies  do  not  always  give  direct  relief,  but  act  Charity  or- 
rather  as  a  "clearing  house"  for  all  charitable  ganization 
agencies  in  the  community.  They  have  a  corps  of  trained 
investigators  who  look  into  each  case  reported  by  any  individual 
or  by  other  charitable  agencies,  make  a  careful  record  of  it,  and 
prescribe  the  proper  treatment.  The  case  may  then  be  turned 
over  to  one  of  the  other  agencies  equipped  to  handle  it.  Philan- 
thropic persons  may  turn  to  the  charity  organization  society  for 
advice  as  to  purposes  for  which  money  is  most  needed. 

The  care  of  dependent  members  of  the  community  is  one  of 
the  things  responsibility  for  which  we  have  been  slow  to  place  in 
the  hands  of  government,  and  which  government,  y^j^g  ^f 
when  it  does  have  the  responsibility,  has  been  slow  private 
to  handle  in  an  effective  way,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
almshouse  (see  page  403).  It  has  been  left  very  largely  to 
voluntary  agencies  to  work  out  scientific  and  effective  methods 
of  dealing  with  this  problem.  Our  universities  now  give  instruc- 
tion relating  to  the  problems  of  poverty  and  the  treatment  of 
dependent  members  of  the  community,  and  train  "social 
workers,"  who  have  thus  far  found  employment  chiefly  as 
secretaries  and  investigators  for  voluntary  philanthropic 
organizations.  In  some  of  our  cities  there  are  special  "  training 
schools  for  social  service."  It  is  only  as  the  work  of  students 
and  the  experience  of  voluntary  organizations  have  demonstrated 
the  community  responsibility  for  the  solution  of  these  social 
problems  and  the  necessity  for  united  community  action  in 
dealing  with  them,  that  state  and  local  governments  have  begun 
to  develop  "departments  of  public  welfare"  to  perform  the 


4o8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

service.  Even  our  national  government,  especially  through  its 
Department  of  Labor,  is  giving  attention  to  the  causes  of 
dependency  and  methods  of  dealing  with  it;  and  there  is  now 
under  consideration  (in  1921)  the  possible  creation  of  a  national 
Department  of  Public  Welfare,  whose  head  would  be  a  member 
of  the  President's  cabinet. 

There  will  doubtless  always  be  some  dependent  and  defective 
members  of  the  community  for  whom  the  community  must 
Causes  of  care.  Their  number,  however,  may  be  greatly 
musTbe°*^^  reduced  by  creating  conditions  that  will  remove 
removed  their  causes.     It  has  been  reported  from  many 

localities,  for  example,  that  the  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  has  resulted  in  the  emptying  of  the  "work  houses" 
which  communities  have  sustained  for  the  confinement  of 
vagrants  and  persons  convicted  of  petty  misdemeanors.  Much 
dependency  has  resulted  from  the  crippling  of  wage  earners  by 
industrial  accidents  and  from  "industrial  diseases"  arising  from 
work  in  unwholesome  conditions.  These  causes  may  be  removed 
by  the  maintenance  of  wholesome  working  conditions,  by  the 
installation  of  safety  devices,  and  by  the  exercise  of  greater  care 
by  workers  and  employers.  The  "safety  first"  movement 
strikes  at  the  root  of  much  dependency.  Inability  to  read  signs 
and  to  understand  instructions  on  the  part  of  illiterate  and 
foreign  workers  is  the  cause  of  many  accidents. 

Some  states  have  passed  "employers'  liability  laws,"  designed 
to  hold  employers  responsible  for  accidents  resulting  from  failure 
Social  in-  to  provide  safe  working  conditions,  and  "work- 
surance  men's  compensation  laws,"  which  provide  that  an 

injured  workman  shall  receive  a  portion  of  his  wages  during 
incapacity  from  accident  or  illness.  In  some  countries  various 
forms  of  compulsory  state  insurance  have  been  adopted.  Ger- 
many, for  example,  has  long  had  laws  requiring  employees 
to  take  out  accident  insurance  and  insurance  against  sickness, 
both  employees  and  employers  contributing  to  the  insurance 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS      409 

fund.  Pensions  for  the  aged  and  for  widows  are  also  provided 
for,  the  German  Government  itself  contributing  to  the  fund  for 
this  purpose.  At  the  close  of  the  year  191 9,  39  of  our  48  states 
had  laws  providing  for  aid  by  the  state  to  mothers  who  were 
unable  to  provide  properly  for  their  children. 

The  aim  in  our  community  life  should  be  as  far  as  possible 
to  prevent  dependency  and  not  merely  to  relieve  suffering  after 
it  occurs.  We  shall  find  that  the  problem  will  tend  to  disappear 
in  proportion  as  we  develop  in  our  communities  adequate  pro- 
vision for  health  protection  and  physical  development  (Chapter 
XI),  for  vocational  and  general  education  (Chapter  X),  for 
wholesome  recreation  (Chapter  XII),  for  the  cultivation  of 
habits  of  thrift  (Chapter  XVII);  and  as  we  are  successful  in 
producing  a  right  attitude  toward  the  problem  of  earning  a 
living  and  wholesome  relations  between  employer  and  employee 
(Chapters  XVI,  XVIII). 

Describe  the  organization  and  duties  of  that  part  of  your  city  government 
which  is  responsible  for  the  care  of  dependents. 

Is  the  poHcy  of  this  department  primarily  one  of  relief,  or  of  rehabililation, 
or  of  prevention?    Illustrate  by  examples. 

What  institutions  for  the  care  of  dependents  and  defectives  are  there  in 
your  city?  Which  of  these  belong  to  the  city,  which  to  the  state,  which  to 
volunteer  organizations? 

If  there  is  a  pubhc  employment  agency  or  office  in  your  city,  ascertain 
the  number  of  applicants  for  work  served  by  it,  the  number  placed  in  posi- 
tions, etc.,  during  the  last  year. 

Where  are  tramps  and  other  homeless  people  lodged  in  your  city?  What  is 
done  for  them?  If  you  have  a  municipal  lodging  house,  ascertain  how  many 
people  it  cares  for  in  the  course  of  a  month,  or  year. 

From  the  reports  of  your  department  of  charities  ascertain  how  many 
people  it  gives  relief  to  in  the  course  of  a  year.  What  forms  of  relief  are  most 
commonly  given? 

Are  more  people  cared  for  by  the  city's  department  of  charities  or  by  vol- 
untary organizations?  What  kind  of  cooperation  takes  place  between  the 
department  of  charities  and  such  voluntary  organizations? 

Report  on  your  county  almshouse  or  poor  farm:  How  many  cases  are 
sheltered  there  during  the  year?    How  many  of  them  are  permanent  residents 


4IO  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

in  the  almshouse?  What  kinds  of  cases  are  housed  there?  The  method  of 
treatment?    Its  cost  to  the  community?    Is  it  well  administered? 

What  state  institutions  for  the  care  of  dependents  and  defectives  has  your 
state?    Where  are  they?    How  are  they  governed? 

What  is  the  difference  between  "poverty"  and  "pauperism"? 

What  kind  of  charity  work  is  done  by  the  church  which  you  attend? 

Is  there  a  charity  organization  society  in  your  city?  Explain  its  methods 
of  work. 

What  measures  are  taken  in  your  city,  by  public  or  private  enterprise,  to 
remove  causes  of  poverty  and  dependency? 

What  laws  control  begging  in  your  city?    Are  they  good  laws?    Why?  . 

Who  are  some  of  the  "social  workers"  in  your  city?  What  is  the  nature 
of  their  work? 

What  has  been  the  effect  of  prohibition  upon  dependency  in  your  city? 
Give  evidence. 

What  can  you  find  out  about  employers'  liability  laws,  workmen's  com- 
pensation laws,  mothers'  pension  laws,  and  other  forms  of  "social  insurance" 
in  your  city  and  state? 

It  is  said  that  there  are  at  least  250,000  people  in  the  United 
States  who  make  their  living  by  crime,  and  there  are  many 
The  criminal  more  who  commit  crime  on  occasion.  It  is  said, 
class  aisQ^  ^hat  to  support  and  control  this  criminal  class 

costs  the  people  of  the  United  States  not  less  than  $600,000,000 
per  annum,  or  as  much  as  is  expended  for  the  entire  educational 
system  of  the  country. 

Crime  is  the  violation  of  law.  The  criminal  is  a  member  of 
the  community  who  refuses  to  cooperate  with  others  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law.  The  conduct  of  an  individual 
may  be  wrong  and  harmful  to  the  community 
without  being  criminal;  it  becomes  criminal  only  when  the  law 
actually  forbids  it.  A  given  act  may  be  a  crime  in  one  state  and 
not  in  another  because  the  laws  of  the  states  differ  in  their 
definition  of  crimes.  They  also  differ  in  the  penalties  imposed 
for  the  same  crime. 

The  methods  of  dealing  with  criminals  have  changed  greatly 
with  the  progress  of  civilization,  and  especially  in  recent  years 
since  the  causes  of  crime  have  become  better  understood.     In 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS       411 

the  earlier  methods  two  ideas  were  prominent:    the  infliction  of 

punishment,  and  the  deterrence  of  others  from  committing  the 

same  offense.     The  penalties  inflicted  were  there-   Early 

r  r-ni        J      iL  li  •         methods  of 

fore   very   severe.      The   death   penalty  was   m-   treating 

flicted  not  only  for  taking  human  life,  but  also   criminals 

for  minor  offenses,  such  as  stealing.    Even  in  our  own  country 

in  colonial  times  bodily  mutilation  was  not  uncommon,  such  as 

branding  with  a  hot  iron,  or  cutting  off  the  ears.    Prisons  were 

vile  and  loathsome  places. 

Humane  feehngs  have  caused  the  abandonment  of  such 
treatment.  The  death  penalty  still  remains  for  the  worst  of 
crimes;  but  efforts  have  been  made  to  make  even  Rehabilitation 
it  more  humane.  Many  believe  that  it  should  be  °^  criminals 
entirely  abandoned.  The  eighth  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  provides  that  cruel  and  unusual  punish- 
ments shall  not  be  inflicted.  Moreover,  a  new  idea  has  entered 
into  the  matter.  It  is  the  same  idea  that  controls  the  modern 
treatment  of  dependents,  namely,  that  of  rehabilitating  the 
criminal.  It  is  now  recognized  that  crime  results  in  most  cases 
from  defective  mental  or  moral  conditions  in  the  individual  or 
defective  social  conditions  in  the  community.  Some  individuals 
commit  crime  merely  because  it  seems  to  them  the  easiest  way 
to  make  a  living  or  to  gain  some  other  end;  but  even  such 
individuals  are  morally  diseased.  Much  crime  is  due  to  tempo- 
rary mental  disturbance,  as  from  the  use  of  intoxicants  or  other 
drugs.  Sometimes  it  is  the  act  of  persons  who  are  actually  insane 
or  feeble-minded.  Very  often  it  is  committed  under  pressure 
of  poverty. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  while  the  deliberate  violator  of  law 
should  doubtless  be  punished,  it  is  even  more  important  that 
the  causes  of  crime  should  be  removed,  and  that  the  criminal 
should,  as  often  as  possible,  be  restored  to  a  useful  and  an  honest 
manner  of  life.  The  proper  treatment  of  dependents  and 
defectives,   and   the   removal   of   causes   of   dependency   and 


412  .  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

defectiveness,  are  essential  steps  toward  the  lessening  of  crime. 

The  county  jail  and  the  town  "lock-up"  are  the  usual  local 
institutions  where  persons  suspected  of  having  violated  the 
The  local  law  are  detained  while  awaiting  trial  in  the  courts, 

j^^^  and  also  where  those  convicted  of  petty  misde- 

meanors are  imprisoned  for  punishment.  The  jail  and  the 
"lock-up"  are  as  notorious  as  the  almshouse  (page  403)  for  un- 
wholesome conditions  and  mismanagement,  though  conditions 
have  greatly  improved  under  the  influence  of  an  awakened  public 
opinion.  They  have  often  been  unsanitary  in  the  extreme. 
Prisoners  have  often  been  treated  more  like  cattle  than  like 
human  beings.  Young  and  old  are  thrown  together,  the  hardened 
criminal  with  the  youthful  "first  offender,"  and  with  those 
merely  suspected  of  crime,  many  of  whom  will  be  proved  to  be 
innocent.  The  result  is  demoralizing.  Our  jails  have  sometimes 
been  said  to  be  "schools  of  vice  and  crime." 

Two  reforms,  at  least,  are  needed  in  local  jails.  First,  they 
should  be  made  as  wholesome  as  possible,  both  physically  and 
Needed  re-  morally.  They  should  be  perfectly  sanitary,  and 
form  of  the  food  should  at  least  be  clean  and  nourishing. 

*  ^  ■'^'  Arrangements  should  be  made  to  keep  the  different 

classes  of  inmates  separate,  especially  the  hardened  and  vicious 
criminals  from  youthful  transgressors  and  suspects.  In  the 
second  place,  the  local  jail  should  be  merely  a  place  of  detention 
for  those  awaiting  trial  or,  after  trial,  transfer  to  other  institu- 
tions. Those  found  guilty  by  the  courts  should  be  transferred 
as  quickly  as  possible  to  institutions  where  they  may  receive 
treatment  fitted  to  their  needs. 

Of  three  persons  who  steal  ten  dollars,  one  may  be  a  deliberate 
thief  who  prefers  to  make  his  living  this  way;  another  may  be 
Fitting  the  driven  by  hunger;  and  the  third  may  be  mentally 
treatment  to  unbalanced.  It  is  obvious  that  the  treatment 
t  e  o  en  er  accorded  to  each  should  be  determined  by  these 
facts  rather  than  by  the  mere  amount  of  the  theft.    The  first 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS       413 

doubtless  needs  punishment;  but  he  should  also  have  treatment 
designed  to  change  his  attitude  toward  the  community  and  to 
fit  him  to  make  an  honest  living.  The  second  needs  to  be  relieved 
of  his  want  and  to  be  given  an  opportunity  for  self-support. 


A  Reformatory 

The  entire  effort  is  to  set  the  young  offender  on  the  right  road  to  honest  self-support 
and  good  citizenship 


The  third  needs  hospital  treatment.  We  are  only  beginning  to 
see  that  treatment  should  be  made  to  fit  the  criminal  fully  as 
much  as  to  fit  the  crime. 

Proper  treatment  for  all  the  various  classes  of  cases  cannot 
well  be  given  in  the  county  jail;  nor  can  the  local  community 
as  a  rule  afford  to  maintain  separate  institutions   g^^^^  institu- 

for  them,  as  the  number  in  each  class  is  very  small  tions  for 

T  •^-       J  •    i.    •       delinquents 

m  a  given  community.     Large  cities  do  maintain 

their  own  prisons,  workhouses,  and  reformatories,  in  some  of 


414  COMMUNITY   CIVICS 

which  rehabihtation  of  the  prisoner  is  emphasized.  But  there  is 
need  for  state  institutions  to  which  those  convicted  in  the  local 
courts  may  be  sent.  Such  institutions  exist,  although  not  always 
adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  state.    They  include  state  peni- 


! 

Work  Shop  in  a  State  Penitentiary  of  New  York 

Modem  penitentiaries  keep  prisoners  employed  in  occupations  that  are  of  use  to  the 
state  and  that  help  to  make  them  self-supporting. 

tentiaries,  reform  and  industrial  schools,  hospitals  for  the  insane, 
special  schools  for  the  feeble-minded,  and  others.  These 
institutions  have  been  steadily  improving  in  their  efficiency. 
The  greater  difficulty  seems  to  be  in  the  local  communities,  in 
securing  the  assignment  of  offenders  to  the  proper  institutions. 
Great  changes  have  occurred  in  recent  years  in  the  methods 
of  administering  state  penitentiaries.  Under  old  conditions 
convicts  were  either  confined  in  isolation  and  idleness  or  con- 
demned to  hard  labor.     The  most  rigid  and  arbitrary  discipline 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS       415 

was  enforced.      Modern  penitentiaries  keep  prisoners  employed 
in  occupations  that  are  of  use  to  the  state,  that  are  designed  to 
train  the  prisoner  for  useful  service,  and  that  yield    Administra- 
him  some  compensation  that  will  help  to  make  him    tion  of  state 
self-supporting  when  he  leaves.   They  also  maintain    ^"^° 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  prisoners  in  at  least  the  common 
branches  of  knowledge  and  in  vocational  subjects.    Great  care 
is  taken  of  health.     In  some  cases  the  prisoners  are  graded 
according  to  their  conduct  and  their  ability  to  assimie  respon- 
sibility, certain  privileges  and  freedom  and  participation  in  the 
administration  of  the  prison  being  bestowed  upon  them  so  long 
as  they  show  a  sense  of  their  responsibility.     The  period  of 
imprisonment  may  be  shortened  as  a  reward  for  good  conduct. 

In  primitive  communities  such  as  early  mining  camps,  where 
stable  government  had  not  been  developed,  men  often  organ- 
ized themselves  as"  vigilance  committees"  to  appre-  Denial  of 
hend  and  punish  offenders  against  the  law.  Speedy  ^^^  *"^^ 
punishment  was  often  meted  out.  Under  the  conditions  that 
existed  such  procedure  may  have  been  necessary;  but  it  was 
always  dangerous,  for  it  denied  a  fair  trial,  and  resulted  in  exces- 
sive and  cruel  punishments.  Whether  or  not  such  methods  were 
justified  under  the  conditions  of  frontier  life,  they  are  wholly 
vicious  in  communities  where  established  courts  exist.  We  hear 
too  frequently  of  "  lynching  parties  "  and  similar  self-appointed 
"conmiittees"  that  "take  the  law  in  their  own  hands,"  not 
merely  in  isolated,  backwoods  communities,  but  even  occasion- 
ally in  our  large  cities.  An  attempt  to  excuse  such  procedure 
is  often  made  on  the  ground  of  failure  on  the  part  of  the  police 
to  apprehend  ofTenders,  or  of  the  courts  to  mete  out  justice 
promptly  and  impartially.  But  lynching  parties  are  as  lawless 
as  the  original  offenders.  They  not  only  indicate,  but  breed, 
a  disrespect  for  law.  They  frequently  do  great  injustice,  and 
are  always  a  menace  to  our  liberties  and  an  infringement  of 
the  rights  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution. 


41 6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  Constitution  guarantees  justice  to  persons  accused  of 
crime.  "  In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
The  rights  "g^t  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial 
of  accused        jury  of  the  state  and  district  wherein  the  crime 

shall  have  been  committed  .  .  .  and  to  be  informed 
of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with 
the  witnesses  against  him,  to  have  compulsory  process  for 
obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of 
counsel  for  his  defense"  (Amendment  VI).  "Excessive  bail 
shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and 
unusual  punishments  inflicted"  (Amendment  VIII). 

It  is  the  business  of  the  courts  to  see  that  justice  is  done  to  an 
accused  person  as  well  as  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  com- 

munity  against  the  criminal  (see  pages  511,  514). 

Like  the  other  parts  of  our  government,  however, 
our  courts  do  not  always  work  perfectly  (see  page  50).  This 
has  been  especially  true  of  the  police  courts  and  other  minor 
courts  of  the  local  community  before  which  the  great  majority 
of  offenders  are  brought  for  preliminary  hearing  or,  if  their  offense 
is  a  minor  one,  for  trial  and  sentence.  One  reason  for  this  is 
the  inferior  ability  and  character  of  many  of  the  magistrates 
and  justices  in  these  courts  as  compared  with  the  judges  of  the 
higher  courts  of  state  and  nation.  The  political  corruption  and 
graft  that  have  too  commonly  characterized  city  and  county 
government  in  the  United  States  (see  pages  515-516)  have 
invaded  even  the  courts  of  justice.  At  times,  in  some  of  our 
cities,  the  police  and  police  courts  have  even  accorded  protection 
to  the  criminal  classes.  At  other  times,  offenders  have  been 
treated  with  undue  brutality  by  police  and  magistrates.  It  has 
been  altogether  too  common  for  the  poor,  friendless  violator  of 
the  law  to  be  harshly  dealt  with  after  a  scant  hearing,  even 
though  his  offense  is  slight,  while  the  rich  and  influential,  guilty 
perhaps  of  greater  offenses,  are  let  off  easily  or  escape  penalty 
entirely. 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS       417 

One  weakness  in  the  procedure  of  administering  justice  is  the 
long  delay  that  frequently  occurs  in  bringing  the  offender  to  trial 
and  in  securing  conviction  or  acquittal.  This  is  due  Delays  of 
in  part  to  the  congestion  of  business  in  the  higher  ^^^  ^**^ 
courts  before  which  many  of  the  cases  are  finally  brought;  in 
part  to  the  success  with  which  lawyers  secure  delay  by  some 
technicality  of  the  law,  in  the  hope  that  something  will  happen 
favorable  to  their  side  of  the  case.  These  delays  are  irritating 
to  the  community,  as  well  as  costly.  On  the  other  hand,  during 
the  delay  the  accused  person,  whether  guilty  or  innocent, 
may  languish  in  a  crowded  and  demoralizing  jail  or  city  prison. 

Notwithstanding  these  and  other  defects  in  the  administration 
of  justice,  improvement  has  been  quite  marked  in  many  partic- 
ulars.   Recent  reforms  in  city  and  county  govern-   Reforms  in 

ment  (see  Chapters  XXV  and  XXVI)  have  reduced  administra- 

.    r,  T  1  ,  ^  J     tion  of  justice 

corrupt  mfluences  upon  police  departments  and 

police  courts.    Local  prisons  have  been  reformed.    New  types 

of  courts  have  been  created  to  deal  with  special  classes  of 

offenders  and  to  make  possible  more  careful  consideration  of 

the  merits  of  each  case.     Sentences  are  imposed  with  more 

thought  for  the  "  rehabilitation  "  of  the  offender.    First  offenders 

and  those  whose  offense  seems  to  be  due  more  to  unfortunate 

surroundings  than  to  criminal  tendencies,  are  often  permitted 

to  retain  their  freedom  on  probation,  thus  relieving  them  of  the 

stigma  of  imprisonment  and  affording  them  a  fair  opportunity 

to  "make  good"  in  the  eyes  of  the  community. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  recent  reforms  is  that  in  the 

treatment  of  juvenile  offenders.     This  reform  centers  in  the 

creation  of  a  juvenile  court,  where  the  usual  pro-   juvenile 

cedure  and  publicity  of  a  criminal  court  are  avoided,   courts 

and  where  the  judge  takes  the  attitude  of  a  father  or  friend 

toward  the  accused.    While  awaiting  trial  the  youthful  offender 

is  sent,  not  to  jail  with  older  prisoners,  but  to  a  detention  home 

where  he  is  accorded  the  best  of  care.    Each  case  is  carefully 


4i8 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


investigated  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  trouble  and  to  arrive 
at  a  wise  conclusion  as  to  the  treatment  to  be  given.  Many  of 
the  young  offenders  are  released  on  parolt  under  the  supervision 


A  Juvenile  Court 

This  is  a  scene  in  the  best-known  juvenile  court  in  the  United  States- 
Denver,  Colo.     Judge  Ben  Lindsay  is  conducting  the  court. 


that  of 


of  a  probation  officer  to  whom  they  must  report  at  regular 
intervals.  In  the  case  of  serious  offenses,  or  of  rep>eated  wrong- 
doing, or  of  violation  of  parole,  offenders  are  sent  to  reform  or 
industrial  schools.  The  entire  effort  is  to  set  the  young  offender 
on  the  road  to  honest  self-support  and  good  citizenship. 

Make  a  study  of  methods  of  punishment  in  colonial  times. 

Should  capital  punishment  be  abolished? 

Compare  the  conditions  in  your  county  jail,  or  your  city  prison,  with  those 
described  on  page  412. 

Is  it  desirable  that  there  should  be  different  definitions  of  crime  in  dif- 
ferent states,  and  different  penalties  for  the  same  crime? 


DEPENDENTS,  DEFECTIVES,  AND  DELINQUENTS      419 

What  is  meant  by  making  punishment  fit  the  criminal  as  well  as  the  crime? 

What  state  institutions  for  the  care  of  dehnquents  has  your  state?  Where 
are  they?    How  are  they  governed? 

What  is  the  method  of  treating  prisoners  in  your  state  penitentiary?  Is 
it  a  good  method?    Why? 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  work  of  Thomas  Mott  Osborn  in  prison 
reform. 

What  is  meant  by  an  "  indeterminate  sentence  "  ?  What  is  its  purpose? 

Why  are  lynching  parties  a  menace  to  the  community? 

Why  should  a  criminal  have  justice  accorded  to  him? 

What  is  the  purpose  of  trial  by  jury?  Is  it  easy  to  get  an  " impartial  jury" 
in  your  community?  Why  should  a  trial  be  conducted  in  the  state  and  dis- 
trict where  the  crime  was  committed? 

What  is  meant  by  "compulsory  process"  for  obtaining  witnesses? 

What  is  bail?  How  is  it  obtained?  How  does  it  protect  the  accused? 
How  does  it  protect  the  community? 

Make  a  report  on  police  or  magistrates'  courts  in  your  city.  How  are  po- 
hce  magistrates  chosen?    Is  it  a  good  method?    Why? 

Is  there  any  less  reason  for  having  good  justices  id  the  minor  courts  than 
in  the  higher  courts? 

What  instances  can  you  give  of  delays  in  administering  justice  by  the 
courts?    Why  are  such  delays  costly? 

What  efforts  are  made  in  your  community  to  "rehabilitate"  offenders 
against  the  law? 

Report  on  the  methods  used  in  juvenile  courts  and  of  dealing  with  juvenile 
offenders  after  trial,  especially  in  your  own  city. 

READINGS 

Annual  reports  of  your  city  government,  especially  of  the  police  department  and 

the  department  of  charities. 
Reports  of  state  board  of  charities  and  of  administrative  boards  of  state  institutions. 
Reports  of  your  local  Charity  Organization  Society. 

Publications  of  the  Children's  Bureau,  U.S.  Department  of  Labor.    Send  for  list 
from  which  to  select.    Two  valuable  publications  of  this  Bureau  are: 
Bureau  Publication  No.  32,  "Juvenile  Delinquency  in  Rural  New  York." 
Bureau  Publication  No.  60,  "Standards  of  Child  Welfare."    This  contains  among 
other  valuable  material,  discussions  of  child  labor  and  legislation  relating  to  it, 
of  the  care  of  dependent  and  defective  children,  and  of  juvenile  delinquency. 
In  Lessons  in  Communily  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson    5,  The  human  resources  of  a  community. 

Lesson  28,  The  worker  in  our  society. 
Series  C:  Lesson    8,  Preventing  waste  of  hiunan  beings. 


420  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Lesson  20,  The  family  and  social  control. 

Lesson  26,  Charity  in  the  community. 

Lesson  30,  Social  insurance. 
The  following  are  a  few  good  books  relating  to  the  topics  of  this  chapter: 
Burch,  H.  R.,  and    Patterson,  S.  H.,  American   Social   Problems,  chaps,  xvi-xx 

(MacmiOan). 
Henderson,  C.  R.,  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents. 
Warner,  A.  G.,  American  Charities. 
Devine,  E.  T.,  Principles  of  Relief. 

Addams,  Jane,  Twenty  Years  at  Hull  House,  and  The  House  on  Henry  Street. 
EUwood,  C.  A.,  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems. 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  vi,  "Guarding  the  City." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION 

People  have  never  liked  to  pay  taxes.    Their  repugnance  to 

it  is  largely  a  survival  of  the  times  when  an  autocratic  ruling 

class  imposed  taxes  upon  the  people  for  its  own    ^^    ^.  ,., 

^  ^  ^  The  disbke 

selfish  purposes.     Struggling  for  the  bare  neces-    of  the 

sities  of  life,  the  people  had  to  pay  the  bills  of  the    People  for 
'  f     r-  L-   J  taxation 

ruling  class  who  lived  in  luxury.  The  long  struggle 
for  liberty  in  England  and  in  the  English  colonies  was  a  struggle 
against  the  power  of  rulers  to  impose  taxes  without  the  consent 
of  the  people.  The  habit  of  mind  with  respect  to  taxation, 
formed  under  such  conditions,  has  to  a  considerable  extent 
persisted  into  the  present,  when  conditions  are  very  different. 

The  change  to  government  "of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for 
the  people"  should  put  the  paying  of  taxes  in  a  very  different 
light.  We  decide  upon  a  service  we  want  per-  -^jj^^  ^^^_ 
formed  for  us,  we  provide  the  governing  machinery  tion  means  in 
to  perform  the  service,  and  the  service  must  be 
paid  for.  We  do  not  object  to  paying  for  having  our  house 
built,  our  food  provided,  our  clothes  made,  and  our  goods 
hauled.  Why  should  we  object  to  paying  for  the  service  of 
schools,  roads,  protection  of  health  and  property,  the  defense 
of  our  liberties?  Such  objection  seems  especially  unreasonable 
when  we  consider  that  the  value  of  the  service  rendered  by  the 
government  is,  as  a  rule,  far  in  excess  of  what  it  costs  the 
individual  citizen. 

In  Chapter  IV  we  read  how  Benjamin  Franklin  secured  the 
services  of  a  man  to  keep  the  pavements  of  the  neighborhood 

421 


422  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

clean  "for  the  sum  of  sixpence  per  month  to  be  paid  by  each 
house."  By  this  bit  of  cooperation,  each  householder  was  re- 
Benefits  of  heved  of  a  burden,  and  had  the  benefit  not  only  of 
team  work  in  having  his  own  pavement  cleaned,  but  also  of 
knowing  that  those  of  all  his  neighbors  would  be 
equally  clean,  and  thus  of  having  a  pleasanter  neighborhood, 
and  the  cost  was  insignificant.  This  incident  illustrates  the 
underlying  principle  of  taxation  in  a  self-governing  community. 
The  poorest  citizen  is  made  rich  in  the  benefits  that  he  may 
enjoy,  while  the  cost  is  made  proportional  to  his  ability  to  pay. 

Like  the  rest  of  our  governing  machinery,  however,  our 
system  of  levying,  collecting,  and  paying  taxes  does  not  always 
Misuse  of  work  perfectly,  and  there  is  more  or  less  ground 
**^®^  for  dissatisfaction  with  it.    In  the  first  place,  the 

people  do  not  always  get  full  value  for  their  taxes.  While  it 
is  true  that  the  citizen  receives,  in  return  for  his  tax,  vastly  more 
than  he  could  purchase  privately  with  the  same  amount  of 
money,  yet,  if  street  improvements  are  poorly  made,  or  the 
schools  badly  administered,  or  the  laws  badly  enforced,  he  gets 
less  than  he  should.  It  usually  costs  as  much  to  employ  an 
inefficient  street  supervisor,  or  school  superintendent,  or  sheriff, 
as  to  employ  an  efficient  one — in  fact,  in  the  long  run  it  costs 
more.  Sometimes  more  persons  are  employed  in  govern- 
ment offices  than  there  is  any  need  for,  or  some  of  those  em- 
ployed are  shirkers,  or  otherwise  inefficient.  There  is  waste- 
fulness in  the  methods  by  which  appropriations  are  made  for  the 
expenses  of  government.  Sometimes  there  is  "graft,"  by  which 
public  money  is  diverted  to  the  private  uses  of  officials,  contract- 
ors, or  others. 

Such  abuses  as  these  are,  of  course,  not  faults  of  the  taxing 
system,  but  they  naturally  make  citizens  reluctant  to  pay  taxes. 
People  want  to  know  that  their  money  is  spent  for  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  was  paid,  and  that  it  is  used  economically 
and  effectively  for   these  purposes.      Nothing  else  will  do  so 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  423 

much    to    remove    the    dishke    of    taxation   as  assurance  on 
these  points.      As  FrankUn  said   with   reference   ^^  cause  of 
to   his  successful   experiment   in    street  cleaning,   dissatisfac- 
it  "raised  a  general  desire  to  have  all  the  streets 
paved,  and   made  the  people    more    willing   to  submit  to  a 
tax  for  that  purpose." 

A  system  of  taxation  must  he  just  if  it  is  to  meet  with  popular 
approval.  It  is  not  easy,  nor  indeed  possible,  to  devise  a  system 
that  works  with  absolute  justice  in  every  case,  for  Taxation 
the  assessment  of  taxes  is  a  compHcated  process,  ™"^*  **®  J"^* 
and  rehance  must  be  placed  to  a  considerable  extent  upon  the 
honesty  and  conscientiousness  of  individual  citizens.  The 
people  are  more  likely  to  be  satisfied,  however,  if  they  see  that 
every  reasonable  efifort  is  made  to  secure  justice. 

The  first  essential  in  a  just  system  is  that  every  citizen  shall 
bear  his  share  of  the  burden.  Therefore  the  paying  of  taxes 
is  compulsory  by  law.  It  is  also  just  that  each  citizen  shall 
pay  only  in  proportion  to  his  ability.  These  two  principles  of 
taxation  are  similar  to  those  applied  in  the  selective  draft  for 
war  service  (see  page  89).  It  is  in  assessing  taxes  according 
to  ability  to  pay  that  one  of  the  principal  difficulties  appears. 
But  an  effort  has  been  made  to  do  this  by  the  following  pro- 
cedure. 

It  is  first  necessary  to  know  how  much  money  will  be  needed 
by  the  government.     Each  year,  therefore,  the  heads  of  the 
various  branches  and  departments  of  the  govern-   How  the 
ment  make  an  estimate  for  the  coming  year,  based  raised  is 
on  their  knowledge  of  past  expenditures  and  present  determined 
and  future  needs.    Such  estimate  can  be  made  intelligently  only 
when  there  is  an  accurate  and  business-like  system  of  keeping 
accounts  and  records,  and  a  well-planned  budget  system  (see 
page  309).    Unbusiness-like  methods  of  keeping  accounts  and  the 
lack  of  a  budget  system  have  been  among  the  chief  weaknesses 
of  our  governments,  equally  characteristic  of  local,  state,  and 


424  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

national  governments.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  remedy  these 
defects  and  are  described  in  Chapters  XXV,  XXVI,  XXVII,  and 
XXVIII. 


The  Custom  House,  New  York  City 

The  second  thing  to  be  ascertained  is  the  abihty  of  each 
citizen  to  pay.  In  some  states  a  uniform  poll  tax  is  assessed 
Taxes  on  upon  every  adult  citizen.    This  is  a  tax  upon  the 

^ro^err  and  P^^^on  and  usually  amounts  to  about  two  dollars, 
privileges  Only  those  are  exempt  who  are  incapable  of  self- 
support.  State  and  local  governments  depend  principally  upon 
a  general  property  tax,  for  which  purpose  property  is  divided 
into  two  kinds:  real  estate,  which  includes  land  and  buildings, 
and  personal  property,  which  includes  furniture,  tools,  livestock, 
money,  and  valuables  of  various  kinds.  In  addition  to  the 
general  property  tax  there  may  be  taxes  upon  incomes  a.nd  upon 
inheritances.  There  are  also  license  taxes,  such  as  dog  and 
automobile   licenses.      Finally    there   are    taxes   upon   certain 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  425 

p/ivileges  which  are  bestowed  upon  the  individual  by  the  com- 
munity and  have  a  money  value.  Of  such  a  nature  is  the  license 
tax  imposed  upon  a  peddler  or  upon  a  person  who  maintains  a 
market  stand  on  the  public  street.  Such,  also,  are  the  taxes 
placed  upon  corporations  for  the  privilege  of  using  the  public 
highways  for  car  tracks,  water  mains,  or  telephone  poles. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  government  to  assess  the 
value  of  the  property  (or  privilege)  of  each  citizen,  and  it  has 
its  organization  for  this  purpose.    Each  local  com-    ^j^^  aggggs- 
munity  (township,  county,  or  city)  has  one  or  more   ment  of 
tax  assessors,  who  endeavor  to  ascertain  by  inquiry 
or  inspection  the  value  of  each  citizen's  property.    The  sum  of 
the  individual  assessments  constitutes  the  assessment  valuation 
for  the  town,  or  county,  or  city;  and  the  sum  of  the  valuations 
of  these  local  communities  constitutes  the  valuation  for  the 
entire  state. 

The  third  step  is  to  ascertain  the  rate  of  taxation.  This  is 
found  by  dividing  the  total  amount  to  be  raised  by  taxation 
by  the  total  property  valuation  of  the  county  or  The  rate  of 
state,  as  the  case  may  be.  If  the  amount  to  be  taxation 
raised  is  $500,000,  and  the  property  valuation  is  $10,000,000, 
the  rate  would  be  5  per  cent,  and  the  tax  is  levied  against  each 
citizen  at  this  rate.  A  citizen  who  owns  twice  as  much  property 
as  another,  should  pay  twice  as  much  tax.  Each  should  pay 
according  to  his  ability. 

This  seems  like  a  simple  procedure;    but  it  is  very  difficult 
to  get  a  just  result.    The  difficulty  Hes  chiefly  in  the  assess- 
ment.   It  requires  a  good  deal  of  intelligence  to   Difficulty  of 
assess  property  fairly,  even  with  the  best  of  in-   just  assess- 
tentions.     Assessors  are   not  always   competent. 
Two  assessors  may  differ  in  their  judgment,  so  that  assessments 
in  one  part  of  the  community  may  run  at  a  lower  level  than  in 
another   part.     Thus   assessments   vary   in    their   fairness   in 
different  townships  of  the  same  county,  and  in  different  counties 


426  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

of  the  same  state.  An  attempt  is  made  to  avoid  this  by  means 
of  county  and  state  tax  equalization  boards,  which  seek  to  adjust 
differences  of  this  sort.  But  their  efforts  are  only  partially 
successful. 

Property  owners  are  themselves,  however,  more  responsible 
than  any  one  else  for  the  inequities  of  taxation  in  our  country. 
Responsi-  It  is  a  Common  practice  of  tax  assessors  to  accept 
property  ^^*^  property  owner's  own  statement  of  the  valu- 

owners  ation  of  his  property.     In  an  astonishingly  large 

proportion  of  cases  he  gives  a  valuation  far  below  the  real  one. 
Even  when  the  assessor  inspects  the  property,  it  is  easy  to  con- 
ceal from  his  eyes  certain  forms  of  personal  property,  such  as 
money,  stocks  and  bonds,  and  jewelry.  Land  and  livestock 
cannot  be  concealed;  and  for  this  reason  farmers  are  likely  to 
pay  a  heavier  share  of  taxes  than  others  whose  property  is  in 
less  conspicuous  forms.    But  they  may  make  false  valuations. 

In  one  state,  where  the  law  requires  the  assessment  of  real  estate  "at 

its  true  value  in  money  when  sold  in  the  ordinary  manner  of  sale,"  a  study 

in  one  township  showed  that  "  the  average  tax  value  of  farm 

lUustrations     ^2^^^  in  the  open  country  ...  is  $7.89,  while  the  average 

assessments    ^"i^^^^  value  runs  around  $20.    The  73  largest  tax  payers 

give  in  their  farm  holdings  at  values  ranging  from  $6  to 

$20  an  acre.    Thus  the  burden  of  state  and  county  support  falls  three  or  four 

times  as  heavily  on  one  acre  of  farm  land  as  on  another  —  on  farms  lying  side 

by  side. 

"When  we  look  at  suburban  farm  land  the  tax  values  range  from  $17  to 
$2,220  an  acre. 

"But  the  most  amazing  'jokes'  appear  in  the  values  put  by  their  owners 
on  improved  town  lots.  In  the  same  end  of  the  town  we  found  three  hand- 
some town  properties  worth  around  $15,000  each;  the  tax  values  were 
$550,  $4,400,  $4,950.  In  another  neighborhood,  two  adjoining  homes 
about  equal  in  value  were  listed  at  $500  and  $3,400;  one  at  about  50  per 
cent  and  the  other  at  about  8  per  cent  of  the  actual  value." 

With  regard  to  personal  property  in  the  same  township,  "the  wealthiest 
private  taxpayer  in  the  township  lists  household  goods  and  utensils,  work- 
stock,  vehicles,  money,  jewelry  ...  at  $216.  The  next  wealthiest  private 
taxpayer  covers  all  these  properties  with  $105.     He's  a  farmer  and  well- 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  427 

to-do,  but  his  household  furniture,   farm  animals,  vehicles,  implements, 
and  the  hke,  are  worth  only  $105  —  on  the  tax  list."  1 

Such  inequalities  as  these  may  be  found  in  almost  every  tax 
list  in  any  community.     One  of  the  strange  things  about  it  is 
that  citizens  evade  taxation  who  would  not  think    pubuj.  ^^^ 
of  being  dishonest  or  unfair  in  a  private  business    private 
transaction.     The  reason  is  not  easy  to  under-      °°^^  ^ 
stand.     Doubtless  it  is  partly  due  to  the  feeling  that  as  long 
as  "everybody  does  it"  it  is  justifiable.    Of  course  this  is  not 
true.     One  taxpayer  is  reported  as  saying,  "I  feel  dog-mean 
whenever  I  give  in  my  taxes;  but  I'm  doing  as  well  as  the  rest 
and  a  little  better  than  most." 

Dishonest  returns  by  one  taxpayer  defraud  the  citizen  who 
is  honest,  because  they  place  a  heavier  burden  of  taxation  upon 
the    latter.      Moreover,    the    dishonest    taxpayer    q^^^  ^^^^^ 
cheats  himself  along  with  others,  for  the  lower  the    and  good 
valuation  of  property,  the  higher  the  rate  of  taxa- 
tion, or  the  poorer  the  service  received  from  the  government. 
"It  is  good  sense  and  good  business  for  a  state  to  show  up  with 
large  tax  values  and  low  tax  rates.    It  shows  a  brisk  and  lively 
prosperity  that  is  attractive  to  outside  capital  and  enterprise."^ 

To  secure  fairer  taxation  and  better  returns  from  taxation 
there  is  need  of  improvement  in  the  organization  for  tax  assess- 
ment and  taX  equahzation.  It  is  especially  im-  intelligence 
portant  to  make  it  more  difficult  for  the  "tax  and  publicity 
dodger"  to  evade  his  responsibility.  It  would 
seem,  however,  that  there  would  be  fewer  "tax  dodgers"  if 
the  people  once  got  "the  right  idea"  of  what  taxation  really 
means  in  a  democracy  (see  page  52).  Great  improvement 
would  doubtless  result,  even  under  present  conditions,  if  honest 
citizens  would  take  more  interest  in  the  results  of  assessments 

1  E.  C.  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study;  in  North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book, 
1917-1918,  pp.  66,  67  (The  University  of  North  Carolina  Extension  Series  No.  30). 
*  E.  C  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study. 


428  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

as  shown-in  the  tax  lists.  The  writer  quoted  in  the  paragraphs 
above  asserts  that,  next  to  the  Bible,  "the  most  important 
book  in  any  county  is  the  Tax  List ,  and  it  is  the  one  book  that 
the  people  in  general  know  least  about." 


A  Clever  Smuggler's  Device 

But  not  clever  enough  to  fool  the  customs  inspector.   The  heart  of  this  Bible  was 
cut  out  to  contain  opium. 

Everybody  knows  in  a  vague,  general  way  that  something  is  wrong 
with  our  tax  system  .  .  .  but  what  everybody  does  not  know  is  what  the 
facts  are  in  concrete,  accurate  detail.  There  is  no  cure  Hke  publicity  for 
wrongs  in  a  democracy.  Give  the  folks  the  facts,  whatever  they  are,  and  the 
folks  wiU  do  the  rest.  .  .  .  But  at  present  nobody  knows  the  facts.  That 
is  to  say,  nobody  but  the  tax  listers,  the  registers,  and  the  sheriffs.  And 
they  are  dumb  because  their  official  lives  depend  on  silence.^ 

Do  people  of  your  acquaintance  like  to  pay  taxes?  WTiat  reasons  do  they 
give? 

What  is  the  cost  of  your  county  government,  your  city  government,  and 
your  state  government  per  year?    Which  is  greatest? 

For  what  purposes  is  most  money  spent  by  your  city  government,  your 
county  government,  and  your  state  government? 

1  E.  C.  Branson,  A  Township  Tax-List  Study. 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  429 

What  is  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  your  town,  county,  state? 

Does  the  law  in  your  state  require  that  property  shall  be  assessed  at  its 
full  market  value?    If  not,  at  what  part  of  its  market  value? 

What  is  the  tax  rate  in  your  city?  Is  it  high  or  low?  Reasons  why  it  is 
high  or  low? 

What  are  the  sources  of  revenue  in  your  city  and  state,  and  the  amount 
raised  from  each  source? 

Describe  the  work  of  a  tax  assessor  in  your  city. 

Where  are  taxes  paid  in  your  community? 

Who  has  charge  of  tax  collections  in  your  community? 

What  happens  to  a  citizen  in  your  community  who  fails  to  pay  his  taxes? 

What  is  the  difference  between  "assessing"  and  "levying"  taxes? 

Who  levies  the  taxes  in  your  city?    county?    state? 

Explain  the  statement  that  "large  tax  values  and  low  tax  rates  attract 
outside  capital  and  enterprise"  (page  427). 

We  have  been  speaking  so  far  of  taxation  for  the  purposes  of 
state  and  local  governments.  But  Congress  also  has  power 
"  to  lay  and  collect  taxes  .  ...  to  pay  the  debts  and  Taxation  by 
provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  wel-  the  national 
fare  of  the  United  States  "  (Constitution,  Art.  I,  sec.  sovernmen 
8,  clause  i).  State  and  local  governments  raise  most  of  their 
revenues  by  direct  taxation  upon  the  property  of  citizens.  The 
national  government,  on  the  other  hand,  has  always  relied 
chiefly  upon  indirect  taxation.  Congress  levies  duties  on  imports. 
These  duties  are  paid  in  the  first  instance  by  the  importer.  The 
latter,  however,  adds  the  tax  to  the  price  of  the  goods,  so  that  it 
is  paid  finally  by  the  consumers  and  not  by  the  importer.  In  a 
similar  manner  Congress  levies  excise  taxes,  which  are  taxes  upon 
products  manufactured  in  this  country.  The  principal  excise 
taxes  have  been  those  levied  on  alcoholic  liquors  and  tobacco. 
But  here  again  the  tax  is  paid  by  the  consumer  in  the  price  which 
he  pays  for  the  hquor  or  tobacco. 

The  chief  advantage  of  indirect  taxes  is  the  ease  and  cer- 
tainty with  which  they  may  be  collected  by  the  government. 
The  citizen  pays  them  whenever  he  buys  the  articles  on  which 
the  tax  is  levied.     The  retail  dealer  passes  them  on  to  the 


430 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


wholesaler,  and  so  finally  the  importer  is  reimbursed.  The 
government  collects  the  taxes  at  customs  houses  at  ports  of 
Advantages  entry,  or  at  the  tobacco  factories  and,  formerly,  at 
of  indirect  distilleries.  Prohibition  has  deprived  the  govern- 
axa  ion  ment  of  one  of  its  chief  sources  of  revenue.    Indirect 

taxes  are  also  less  objectionable  to  the  people,  for  they  are 


Making  Income  Tax  Returns 

The  last  few  days  before  the  date  set  for  the  completion  of  these  returns  is  a  busy 
time  in  the  thousands  of  revenue  offices  in  the  country. 

seldom  conscious  of  paying  them  when  they  buy  goods  upon 
which  they  are  levied. 

Congress  has  the  power  to  levy  direct  as  well  as  indirect  taxes, 
but  it  has  usually  avoided  direct  taxation,  partly  for  the  reasons 
Federal  Stated  above,  and  partly  because  the  Constitution 

income  tax  provides  that  "no  capitation  or  other  direct  tax 
shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration 
hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken;"    that  is,  in  proportion  to 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION 


431 


population.  It  has  been  found  difficult  in  practice  to  make 
such  apportionment.  Various  attempts  by  Congress  to  levy 
a  direct  tax  on  incomes  have  been  declared  unconstitutional  by 
the  Supreme  Court  because  it  was  not  so  apportioned.  The 
Constitution  has  now  been  amended,  however,  to  give  Congress 
the  power  "to  lay  and  collect  taxes  on  incomes  from  whatever 
source    derived,    without    apportionment    among    the    several 


^j^       /1:^,.           - 

\^ 

v\ 

B^mK 

""■**■»-'  ^Nl  ' 

'4 

^^^V '     '  -M-^-^H 

* 

I  Keystone  View  Co. 


Aliens  Filing  Income  Tax  Returns 
New  York  Custom  House 


States,   and  without  regard   to  any  census  or  enumeration" 
(Amendment  XVI). 

A  large  revenue  is  now  derived  from  the  national  income 
tax.  The  law  at  first  exempted  from  it  single  persons  whose 
income  was  less  than  $3,000,  and  married  persons  whose  income 
was  less  than  $4,000.  As  a  result  of  the  war,  the  amount  ex- 
empted was  reduced  to  $1,000,  for  those  who  are  single,  and  to 
$2,000  for  those  who  are  married,  with  an  additional  exemption 
for  each  dependent  child.  The  tax  is  progressive;  that  is,  the 
larger  one's  income,  the  higher  rate  one  pays. 


432  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

In  ordinary   times  of  peace,   state  and  local  governments 

together  spend  much  more  money  than  the  national  government. 

In  war  time  the  reverse  is  true.     Enormous  sums 

of  money  were  required  for  the  conduct  of  th'e  recent 

war.    As  a  result  the  rates  of  import,  excise,  and  income  taxes 


Laboratory  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Office 
Examining  patent  medicines  and  "near-beer"  to  determine  percentage  of  alcohol 

were  greatly  increased,  and  unusual  forms  of  taxation  were 
adopted.  A  war  tax  was  placed  upon  many  articles  of  common 
use,  an  inheritance  tax  was  imposed  similar  to  that  in  some  of 
the  states,  and  the  excess  profits  of  businesses  which  the  war 
made  unusually  prosperous  were  taxed  heavily.  The  effort  in 
every  case  was  to  distribute  the  tax  so  that  every  one  should 
do  his  share,  while  the  burden  should  rest  most  heavily  upon 
those  who  could  best  bear  it. 
A  large  part  of  the  money  necessary  for  war  purposes,  and 


TEAM  WORK  IN  TAXATION  433 

for  permanent  improvements  in  time  of  peace,  is  raised  by 
borrowing.  Governments,  whether  national,  state,  or  local,  bor- 
row money  by  the  sale  of  bonds,  the  purchase  price  Government 
with  interest  being  returned  to  the  purchaser  '°"°^ 
after  a  stated  period  of  years.  The  national  government  bor- 
rowed more  than  22  billion  dollars  during  the  war  by  the  sale 
of  "hberty  bonds,"  and  an  additional  large  sum  by  the  sale  of 
"  war  savings  stamps "  (see  page  318).  These  loans  made  by  the 
people  are  ultimately  paid  off  with  funds  raised  by  taxation. 
The  people  to-day  advance  money  to  the  government,  which  the 
people  of  to-morrow  pay  back  fey  taxation.  This  is  justifiable 
because  the  war  was  fought  for  the  benefit  of  future  generations 
as  well  as  of  the  people  to-day.  For  the  same  reason,  the  cost 
of  permanent  improvements,  such  as  roads  and  public  buildings, 
is  distributed  over  a  period  of  years. 

What  is  the  full  meaning  of  Article  I,  section  8,  clause  i,  and  section  7, 
clause  I,  of  the  Constitution? 

Investigate  the  loss  to  the  nation  of  revenue  as  a  result  of  the  prohibition 
of  the  liquor  traffic. 

What  compensating  financial  gains  result  to  the  nation  through  prohibi- 
tion of  the  liquor  traffic? 

Why  is  an  income  tax  a  good  form  of  taxation?  Why  should  it  be  "pro- 
gressive" (page  431)? 

What  is  the  justice  of  an  inheritance  tax?    Of  a  tax  on  excess  profits? 

Upon  what  articles  do  you  pay  an  import  duty? 

Why  is  government  justified  in  compelling  the  payment  of  taxes? 

READINGS 

County  and  state  reports.  Local  tax  lists. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  B:  Lesson  22,  Financing  the  war. 

Lesson  23,  Thrift  and  war  savings. 
The  United  States  Treasury  Department;  in  The  Federal  Executive  Departments, 

Bulletin,  iQig,  No.  74,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Taxation  and  Government  (John  Fiske),  pp.  240-254. 
North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  1917-1918,  pp.  49-68  (University  of  North  Carolina 
Record,  Extension  Series  No.  30,  Chapel  Hill,  N.C.). 


434  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


Tufts,  The  Real  Business  of  Living,  pp.  52-54,  242-246. 

Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government,  chap,  v,  "Raising  and  Spending  the 

City's  Money." 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  pp.  381-429  (Longmans,  Green  &  Co.). 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and   Functions   of  American  Government,  pp.  468-481   (World 

Book  Co.). 
Encyclopedia  of  American  Government,  under  "Tax"  and  "Taxation." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES 

Early  in  our  study  we  considered  the  question  why  we  have 
government  (Chapter  IV).  We  saw  then  that  it  is  the  people's 
organization  for  team  work  in  protecting  and  promoting  their 
common  interests.  Succeeding  chapters  contain  evidence  that 
this  is  so,  although  they  also  show  that  the  results  achieved  by 
government  are  by  no  means  perfect.  Now  we  are  to  consider 
how  we  have  organized  to  get  team  work  and  how  well  our 
organization  is  suited  to  its  purpose. 

In  so  far  as  government  performs  service  for  us,  it  must  have 
an  organization  for  that   purpose,  with  competent  leadership; 
and  if  it  is  not  to  interfere  unduly  with  freedom   Organization 
of  action  or  personal  liberty,  the  people  must  have   ^^^^j  f^j.  ^q^. 
an  organization  by  which  to  maintain  control  over  trol 
it.    Thus  there  must  be  an  organization  to  insure  efficient  service, 
and  there  must  be  an  organization  to  insure  democracy,  or 
popular  control.    If  both  organizations  are  effective,  we  have  an 
efficient  democracy,  toward  which  we  have  been  striving  through 
all  our  history,  but  which  we  have  not  yet  completely  attained. 

A  government  may  be  eflScient  in  performing  service  for  the  people  with- 
out being  democratic.  In  fact,  it  may  be. easier  to  get  efficient  service 
under  an  autocratic  government.  Germany  before  the  war  illustrated  this. 
But  we  beheve  that  a  government  may  be  both  efficient  and  democratic. 
This  depends  upon  competent  leadership  and  popular  control. 

In  the  remaining  pages  of  this  book  we  shall  consider  both  the 
organization  of  our  government  for  service  and  that  for  popular 
control.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  examine  some  of  the  methods 
by  which  we  seek  to  control  government,  or  to  be  5e//-governing. 

435 


436  .  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  people  of  a  community  may  govern  themselves  by  direct 
action  or  indirectly  through  representatives.  When  English 
Direct  self-  colonists  settled  New  England,  geographical 
government  conditions  and  other  reasons  led  them  to  form 
small,  compact  communities,  in  which  it  was  easy  to  assemble 
frequently  at  the  meetinghouse  to  discuss  matters  of  community 
concern  and  to  agree  upon  rules,  or  laws,  to  regulate  them.  This 
local  government  by  "town  meeting"  has  persisted  in  many 
New  England  "towns,"  or  "townships,"  to  the  present  day. 

This  direct  action  of  the  people  in  the  New  England  town  is 
for  the  purpose  of  making  the  laws  only.  When  it  comes  to 
Re  resenta-  ^^^  enforcement  of  these  laws,  it  is  necessary  to  dele- 
tive  self-  gate  the  authority  to  some  one.     The  town  meeting 

government  (.Q^l(J  make  a  law  against  permitting  hogs  to  run  at 
large,  but  it  chose  some  one,  a  "hog  reeve,"  to  see  that  the  law 
was  observed.  When  the  community  is  large  it  is  found  more  con- 
venient to  choose  representatives  also  to  make  the  laws.  Thus 
each  Massachusetts  town  had  its  representative  in  the  law-making 
assembly  of  the  colony  as  a  whole.  This  representative  system  of 
government  now  prevails  in  our  cities,  counties,  states,  and  nation. 

Even  in  the  larger  communities,  however,  such  as  cities,  states, 
and  the  nation  itself,  the  people  have  sought  to  retain  more  or 
Direct  self-  less  direct  control  over  law  making.  In  the  first 
Kugh'con-  place,  the  "fundamental  law"  of  the  states  and 
stitutions  nation  found  in  their  constitutions,  which  determine 

what  the  form  and  powers  of  government  shall  be,  has  been 
adopted  by  more  direct  action  of  the  people  than  most  other 
laws.  The  preamble  to  the  federal  Constitution  asserts  that 
"We,  the  people  of  the  United  States  ...  do  ordain  and 
establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America." 
Neither  state  nor  national  constitutions  can  be  altered  except 
by  special  action  by  the  people  themselves,  either  by  direct  vote 
at  the  polls  or  by  conventions  of  representatives  chosen 
especially  for  the  purpose. 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES 


437 


It  has  long  been  the  practice  in  many  communities  to  submit 
important  local  questions  to  popular  vote  for  decision,  such  as 
the  question  of  issuing  bonds  for  public  improve-    Direct  law 
ments,    or   of    licensing    saloons.      Within    recent  ^jative  and 
years  in  a  number  of  states  the  people  have  gained  referendum 
direct  control  over  law  making  in  regard  to  any  subject  whatever, 


"Equal  Suffrage"  • 

A  man  and  his  wife  casting  their  ballots.     Note  the  voting 
booths  in  the  background. 

both  in  local  and  state  affairs,  by  means  of  the  "initiative  and 
referendum."  The  "initiative"  is  the  right  of  the  voters 
themselves  to  "initiate,"  or  propose,  legislation.  This  is  done 
by  means  of  a  petition  signed  by  a  specified  number  of  voters. 
The  legislature  may  then  act  upon  the  proposed  law;  but  if  it 
does  not  do  so,  the  law  is  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  vote  at 


438  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  next  election.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  legislature  passes  a 
law  that  is  objectionable  to  some  of  the  voters  a  petition  signed  by 
a  specified  number  of  voters  requires  the  law  to  be  referred  to  the 
people  for  their  approval  or  rejection.    This  is  the  "referendum." 

Of  the  21  states  that  had  adopted  the  initiative  and  refer- 
endum (to  191 7),  only  four  were  east  of  the  Mississippi  River 
Democracy  of  (Maine,  Maryland,  Michigan,  and  Ohio).^  The 
the  West  movement  to  increase  popular  control  over  govern- 

ment has  always  been  stronger  in  the  West,  as  we  shall  see  in 
other  connections. 

For  the  most  part,  however,  our  laws  are  made  by  our  repre- 
sentatives, over  whom  we  exercise  more  or  less  control.  Some 
of  the  more  important  means  by  which  this  control  is  exercised 
are  described  in  following  chapters;  but  first  of  all  we  exercise 
control  by  choosing  our  representatives  at  frequent  intervals.  Let 
us  inquire  to  what  extent  the  people  have  a  voice  in  this  choice. 

It  is  not  true  that  all  citizens  have  a  voice  in  choosing  their 

representatives,  though  it  is  more  nearly  true  to-day  than  ever 

^,        „  before.    The  right  to  a  voice  in  this  choice  is  called 

The  sufifrage  ° 

the  suffrage.  It  is  bestowed  only  on  those  citizens 

who  possess  certain  qualifications.  The  constitution  of  each 
state  fixes  the  qualifications  for  those  who  live  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  state,  the  national  government  having  exer- 
cised no  control  over  the  matter  except  in  two  cases.  After 
the  Civil  War,  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  federal  Con- 
stitution was  adopted,  providing  that  "the  right  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by 
the  United  States,  or  by  any  state,  on  account  of  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition  of  servitude;"  and  the  recently  adopted 
Nineteenth  Amendment  bestows  the  suffrage  upon  all  women 
of  the  nation  who  possess  the  other  necessary  qualifications. 

1  "The  Initiative  and  Referendum,"  Bulletin  No.  6,  submitted  to  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  Massachusetts  (1917)  by  the  Commission  to  Compile  Informa- 
tion and  Data,  p.  10. 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  439 

The  founders  of  our  nation  were  far  from  democratic  as  we 
now  understand  the  term.  They  beheved  that  the  government 
should  be  controlled  by  the  educated  and  prop-  Early  distrust 
ertied  class,  which  was  small.  The  lack  of  con-  °^  ^^^  people 
fidence  in  the  people  was  shown  in  various  ways,  but  among 
others  by  the  restriction  of  the  suffrage.  This  was  true  even 
in  the  New  England  town  meeting,  which  we  are  in  the  habit  of 
considering  as  the  most  democratic  of  institutions.  For  in- 
stance, no  one  could  vote  in  colonial  times  who  did  not  belong 
to  the  church.  Religious  qualifications  were  soon  abolished, 
however,  and  property  qualifications  have  almost  completely 
disappeared,  though  in  some  states  voters  must  be  tax-payers. 

To-day  no  citizen  may  vote  in  any  state  who  has  not  reached 
the  age  of  21.  The  reason  for  this  is  clear  and  just,  but  it  ex- 
cludes from  the  suffrage  about  30,000,000  young  Qualifications 
citizens.  Persons  of  unsound  mind  are  denied  the  for  the 
suffrage,  and  citizens  may  be  disqualified  by  crime.  ^"  ^^^^ 
In  some  states  illiterates  are  denied  the  right  to  vote.  In  most 
states  foreigners  must  have  completed  the  process  of  naturaliza- 
tion before  they  may  vote.  All  states  require  residence  in  the 
state  and  in  their  local  districts  for  specified  periods  prior  to 
voting.  But  with  these  exceptions,  the  suffrage  is  now  possessed 
by  practically  all  citizens  who  are  2 1  years  of  age  or  over. 

Why  may  an  autocratic  government  perform  more  efficient  service  than 
democratic  government? 

What  is  a  "benevolent  despotism"?  What  is  a  "paternalistic  govern- 
ment"? 

Why  do  we  consider  an  imperfect  democracy  better  than  an  efficient 
autocracy? 

Do  you  have  direct  or  representative  self-government  in  your  community? 
Explain. 

What  voluntary  organizations  are  there  in  your  community  (such  as 
business  corporations,  churches,  clubs,  etc.)  that  have  direct  self-govern- 
ment?   Representative  self-government? 

Does  your  community  have  representatives  in  state  and  national  govern- 
ments?   What  are  their  names?    How  long  will  they  be  your  representatives? 


440  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Does  your  city  or  state  have  the  initiative  and  referendum?  If  so,  explain 
in  detail  how  they  are  used.    Give  instances  of  the  use  of  either. 

From  your  state  constitution  ascertain  the  exact  qualifications  for  the 
suffrage  in  your  state. 

Report  on  the  history  of  woman  suffrage  in  your  state. 

Do  you  think  any  of  the  restrictions  on  the  suffrage  now  existing  in  your 
state  should  be  removed?    Why? 

Do  you  think  any  further  restrictions  should  be  placed  on  the  suffrage 
in  your  state?    Why? 

One  of  the  important  principles  upon  which  democratic 
government  rests  is  that  the  will  of  the  majority  should  control. 
Majority  and  It  is  the  only  arrangement  that  can  be  made  with 
minority  rule  justice.  It  often  happens,  however,  that  a  minority, 
and  sometimes  a  very  small  minority,  gains  control.  It  also 
sometimes  happens  that  the  party  in  power  in  government, 
whether  it  is  a  majority  or  a  minority,  governs  without  full 
consideration  for  the  interests  of  other  parties  or  of  the  com- 
munity as  a  whole.  We  shall  try  to  get  some  idea  of  how  this 
happens,  and  also  of  methods  proposed  to  prevent  it;  for  as 
long  as  it  happens  we  cannot  lay  claim  to  a  full  measure  of 
democracy  in  our  government. 

If  the  pupils  of  your  class  or  school  are  voting  on  the  kind  of  entertain- 
ment to  be  given,  and  a  difference  of  opinion  arises,  can  you  think  of  a  fairer 
way  to  decide  than  by  a  vote  of  the  majority? 

If  the  majority  decides  the  question,  should  the  minority  yield  gracefully 
to  the  decision?    Why? 

After  the  majority  plan  has  been  adopted,  has  the  minority  any  rights 
in  the  matter? 

Is  the  majority  always  right  in  its  decisions?  Give  illustrations  to  prove 
vour  answer. 

If  your  community  takes  a  vote  on  the  question  of  street  improvement, 
or  of  granting  a  franchise,  is  it  right  that  the  majority  should  decide? 

If  the  majority  rules  in  such  a  case,  is  it  right  that  the  citizens  of  the 
minority  party  should  be  taxed  for  the  improvement  as  well  as  those  of  the 
majority?    Why? 

If  your  class  president  is  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  class,  or  your  city 
mayor  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  city,  to  what  extent  is  it  the  duty  of 
this  officer  to  consider  the  interests  of  the  minority  which  voted  against  him? 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  44 1 

Our  government  is  a  government  by  political  parties;  that 
is,  political  parties  control  the  government.  Voters  acting 
independently  of  one  another  cannot  exercise  much  Political 
influence.  There  must  be  team  work  in  political  Parties 
matters  as  in  everything  else.  A  political  party  consists  of 
those  voters  who  think  alike  and  act  together  on  questions 
of  government  policy,  or  in  electing  their  representatives  in 
government.  It  is  a  voluntary  organization,  entirely  outside 
of  the  government  and  not  recognized  in  our  constitutions,  but 
exercising  very  great  influence  upon  government. 

In  his  Farewell  Address  to  the  people,  Washington  said: 
The  spirit  [of  party]  unfortunately  is  inseparable  from  our  nature,  having 
its  root  in  the  strongest  passions  of  the  human  mind.  It  exists  under  dif- 
ferent shapes  in  all  governments,  more  or  less  stifled,  controlled,  or  repressed; 
but  in  those  of  the  popular  form  it  is  seen  in  its  greatest  rankness,  and  is 
truly  their  worst  enemy.  The  alternate  domination  of  one  faction  over 
another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of  revenge  natural  to  party  dissensions  .  .  . 
is  a  frightful  despotism.  .  .  .  The  common  and  continual  mischiefs  of  the 
spirit  of  party  are  sufiicient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a  wise  people 
to  discourage  and  restrain  it. 

As  long  as  people  differ  on  questions  of  public  policy  there  are 
bound  to  be  political  parties,  as  Washington  knew,  and  they 
have   always   played   an   important   part   in   our    Mischiefs 
government.    But  necessary  and  useful  as  parties    of  the  party 
have  been,  the  events  of  our  history  have  shown    ^^*" 
that  Washington's  warning  was  exceedingly  wise,  the  "party 
spirit"  having  often  proved  the  "worst  enemy"  of  our  demo- 
cratic government. 

When  some  great  question  is  before  the  country,  like  that  of 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  or  that  of  slavery,  the  people 
are  usually  divided  into  two  great  parties.     The    y^^^  ^^ 
party  that  marshals  the  greater  number  of  votes    minority 
constitutes  a  majority  and  gains  control  of    the    °pp°®' 
government      The  defeated  minority   usually  accepts  its  de- 
feat  in    a    sportsmanlike    manner    and    loyally    supports    the 


442  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

government.  Nevertheless  it  does  not  cease  its  opposition  to 
the  principles  of  the  party  in  power.  One  of  the  chief  values  of 
the  party  system  is  that  it  keeps  important  questions  in  constant 
discussion.  The  opposition  of  the  minority  serves  as  a  check 
upon  the  acts  of  the  party  in  power,  which  is  anxious  to  avoid 
arousing  too  much  opposition.  This  is  one  means  of  control 
over  the  government  enjoyed  by  the  minority  party.  A  defeated 
minority  at  one  election  may  become  a  victorious  majority  at 
the  next.  The  fact  that  a  party  is  in  the  minority  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  it  is  in  the  wrong. 

Minorities,  however,  sometimes  win  elections.  If  more  than 
two  parties  are  contesting  the  election,  which  often  happens, 
How  minori-  ^^^^  *^^^  wins  which  has  the  greatest  number  of 
ties  may  gain  votes,  though  this  number  may  be  less  than  the 
combined  votes  of  the  opposing  parties.  No  other 
arrangement  seems  possible.  President  Wilson  won  his  first 
election  by  a  minority  vote,  the  opposition  being  divided  be- 
tween Taft  and  Roosevelt. 

A  minority  may  win  through  better  team  work.  There  are 
always  some  voters  who,  through  indifference  or  other  causes, 
do  not  cast  their  vote.  This  is  especially  likely  to  happen  in 
local  elections,  in  which  there  is  almost  never  as  large  a  vote 
cast  as  in  the  same  district  at  a  general  election.  It  is  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  a  party  organization  to  keep  its  members  in- 
formed and  interested  and  to  see  that  they  cast  their  votes. 
The  party  that  is  best  organized  for  these  purposes  is  very  likely 
to  win  over  its  opponents  even  though  the  latter  are  more 
numerous. 

The  organization  of  the  national  political  parties  is  very 
thorough.  Each  party  has  a  managing  committee  in  every 
Organization  ^ocal  district,  the  local  organizations  are  united  in  a 
of  parties  and  state  organization,  and  the  several  state  organiza- 
tions in  a  national  organization.  The  shrewdest 
men  the  party  affords  are  made  chairmen  of  committees  and 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  443 

chosen  for  other  positions  of  leadership.  Such  organization 
is  necessary  and  proper,  it  is  only  common-sense  team  work. 
But  unfortunately  it  has  frequently  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
designing  men  who  have  used  it  to  promote  private  interests 
rather  than  those  of  the  public.  A  poHtical  "boss,"  who  is  at 
the  head  of  an  inner  "ring"  of  politicians,  often  decides  who 
shall  be  nominated  for  the  various  offices  of  government,  leav- 
ing no  choice  to  the  voters  themselves.  This  makes  of  our 
government  a  real  autocracy,  and  the  worst  kind  of  an  autocracy, 
because  the  autocrat  (the  "boss")  acts  in  secret,  and  is  in  no 
way  responsible  to  the  people.  It  is  the  "frightful  despotism" 
of  which  Washington  warned  his  countrymen  (p.  441). 

Political  "bosses"  are  often  allied  with  powerful  business 
interests  which  seek  legislation  and  governmental  administra- 
tion favorable  to  themselves.  This  has  given  rise  Government 
to  the  charge  sometimes  made  that  our  govern-  in  the  interest 
ment  is  a  "plutocracy,"  a  government  of  the  **  aUc asses 
people  by  a  small  wealthy  class.  It  is  the  feeling  that  this  is  so 
that  has  caused  much  of  the  social  unrest  at  the  present  time. 

Unquestionably  selfish  groups  representing  great  wealth 
have  often  exerted  undue  influence  in  governmental  affairs  with- 
out regard  for  the  public  welfare.  We  have  seen  how  the  public 
lands  and  the  nation's  natural  resources  have  in  some  cases 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  individuals  and  corporations  to  the  in- 
jury of  the  nation  and  of  those  who  want  to  use  them  for  produc- 
tive purposes  (see  p.  373).  On  the  other  hand,  men  who  have 
been  successful  in  managing  their  private  business  affairs  may 
also  be  influential  in  managing  public  affairs  without  necessarily 
having  unworthy  motives.  Nevertheless,  when  government  falls 
under  the  control  of  any  particular  class  or  group,  whether  it 
represents  wealth,  or  labor,  or  any  other  interest,  if  it  has  not 
due  regard  for  all  classes,  and  if  it  denies  to  the  members  of 
other  groups  the  voice  in  government  to  which  they  are  enti- 
tled, it  establishes  a  despotism  and  overthrows  democracy. 


444  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Why  do  the  people  submit  to  "boss  rule"?  In  the  first 
place,  they  do  not  always  submit  to  it.  Occasionally,  when 
Why  the  the  "bosses"  go  to  unusual  extremes,  the  people 

people  sub-  gj^g  ^^y  ^q  "fits  of  public  rage,"  to  use  the  words 
rule"  of   former   Senator   Ehhu   Root,    "in   which   the 

people  rouse  up  and  tear  down  the  political  leader,  first  of  one 
party  and  then  of  the  other  party."  It  is  thus  possible  for  the 
people  to  escape  the  despotism  of  "boss  rule."  But  two  things 
seem  to  be  necessary  to  bring  it  about:  first,  the  people  must  be 
sufficiently  interested  in  the  management  of  their  public  affairs; 
and,  second,  they  require  leadership.  It  takes  close  attention 
to  public  affairs  to  enable  a  citizen  to  make  wise  decisions  for 
himself;  and  the  average  citizen  looks  around  for  guidance. 
The  absence  of  respomible  leadership  gives  the  irresponsible 
"boss"  his  chance. 

One  difficulty  encountered  by  the  citizen  who  wishes  to  vote 
intelligently  is  the  large  number  of  persons  to  be  chosen.  There 
The  short  have  been  cases  where  the  names  of  several  hundred 
ballot  candidates  appeared  on  the  same  ticket.    In  a  small 

community  a  voter  may  know  personally  all  the  candidates, 
but  in  larger  communities  this  is  not  so.  It  was  once  thought 
that  to  make  as  many  of  the  government  offices  as  possible 
elective  was  a  step  in  the  direction  of  democracy,  and  that  it 
gave  the  people  direct  control  over  them.  But  it  has  not 
worked  out  this  way.  It  is  impossible  for  the  average  voter 
to  choose  wisely  among  so  many  candidates,  and  he  therefore 
falls  an  easy  prey  to  "boss  rule."  The  short  ballot  is  now  quite 
generally  advocated  to  meet  this  situation.  By  this  plan  the 
number  of  officers  to  be  elected  is  reduced,  and  includes  only 
those  who  are  responsible  for  determining  the  policies  of  govern- 
ment, such  as  members  of  legislatures  and  the  chief  executive 
officers.  These  few  important  officers  and  representatives  are 
then  made  responsible  for  the  appointment  of  all  other  subordi- 
nate officers  whose  business  is  to  carry  policies  into  effect.    This 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  445 

really  gives  the  people  better  control  over  their  government  by 
fixing  responsibility  in  a  few  places,  and  is  therefore  no  less 
democratic  than  the  older  plan. 

Do  you  have  a  long  ballot  or  a  short  ballot  in  your  city?    In  your  state? 

How  many  offices  in  your  city  government  are  elective?  How  many 
of  the  men  holding  these  offices  do  you  know?  Consult  your  parents  as  to 
the  number  of  these  officers  they  know  personally.  How  many  does  your 
teacher  know? 

At  the  next  election  get  a  copy  of  the  ballot  used  in  your  community 
and  ascertain  the  number  of  candidates  for  all  offices,  including  local,  state, 
and  national. 

What  national  political  parties  exist  at  present? 

Are  the  voters  of  your  local  community  divided  into  parties  on  local 
questions?    If  so,  what  are  some  of  these  questions? 

Investigate  the  organization  in  your  county  and  city  of  the  political 
party  of  which  your  father  is  a  member.  Who  is  chairman  of  its  local 
committee? 

Investigate  the  work  that  a  party  organization  does  in  your  community 
during  an  election  campaign;  on  election  day;   in  the  time  between  elections. 

Why  is  secret  control  over  government  dangerous? 

What  is  meant  by  "social  unrest"  (p.  443)? 

Are  all  men  of  your  acquaintance  equally  capable  of  directing  the  affairs 
of  government  in  office?    Why? 

What  is  meant  by  "responsible"  and  "irresponsible"  leadership  (p.  444)? 

What  does  it  mean  to  say  that  a  leader  must  be  "responsive  as  well  as 
responsible"  to  the  people? 

Various  schemes  have  been  adopted  to  insure  to  every  voter 
a  free  expression  of  his  choice  for  representatives,  and  to  the 
majority  their  right  to  govern.  One  of  these  is  The  secret 
the  secret  ballot.  At  the  polls  each  voter  enters  a  ^^o* 
booth  by  himself  to  mark  his  ballot,  or  to  operate  the  voting 
machine,  and  need  have  no  fear  that  a  possible  "watcher" 
may  cause  him  to  lose  his  job  or  otherwise  suffer  for  voting  as 
he  thinks  best.  The  secret  ballot  also  reduces  the  likelihood 
that  votes  will  be  bought,  for  there  is  no  way  of  telling  whether 
the  man  who  sells  his  vote  will  vote  as  he  has  agreed;  and  the 
man  who  sells  his  vote  is  not  to  be  trusted.    The  only  voters 


446  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

who  are  embarrassed  by  the  secret  ballot  are  those  who  cannot 
read  their  ballots.  These  have  to  seek  help,  and  are  thus  open 
to  influence  by  agents  of  the  "boss." 

Another  device  to  insure  to  the  voter  a  voice  in  his  govern- 
ment is  the  direct  primary  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for 
The  direct  office.  By  the  older  method  candidates  were 
primary  nominated    by    party    conventions;     but    under 

"boss  rule"  they  were  in  reality  determined  upon  in  advance 
by  the  "boss,"  the  nomination  by  the  convention  being  largely 
a  matter  of  form,  the  delegates  voting  according  to  instructions. 
The  ordinary  voter  had  nothing  to  say  about  it.  Under  the 
direct  primary  plan  any  voter  possessing  the  necessary  qualifica- 
tions for  holding  office  may  become  a  candidate  by  merely 
securing  the  signatures  of  a  specified  number  of  voters  to  a 
petition.  Then  a  primary  election  is  held  at  which  the  voters  of 
each  party  go  to  the  polls  to  express  their  choice  for  one  among 
the  several  candidates  who  have  been  announced  for  each  office 
to  be  filled.  The  candidates  receiving  the  highest  number  of 
votes  become  the  nominees  of  their  party.  The  direct  primary 
is  now  used  quite  widely  throughout  the  United  States  and  is 
believed  to  be  a  great  improvement  over  the  old  method,  though 
it  does  not  always  work  as  well  as  was  expected  of  it.  The  truth 
is  that  any  organization  is  open  to  abuse  by  clever  people  who 
wish  to  abuse  it,  and  no  political  organization  will  work  effec- 
tively unless  the  voters  are  intelligent  and  eternally  vigilant. 

The  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  are 
still  nominated  by  national  party  conventions.  But  in  some 
Preferential  states  there  are  presidential  preferential  primaries. 
primaries  These  are   direct  primaries  at  which   the  voters 

express  their  preference  for  the  presidential  candidates.  This  is 
intended  to  be  a  guide  to  the  nominating  convention,  but  there 
is  nothing  to  compel  the  convention  to  follow  the  guidance. 

Democratic  government  demands  certain  rights  for  minorities. 
We  have  seen  how  a  minority  party  may  exercise  a  wholesome 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  447 

check  upon  the  party  in  power  by  constant  opposition.     We 
never  have   a  Congress  or  a   state   legislature  in    The  right  or 
which  the  members  are  all  of  one  party.     This  is  a    n^nonties 
good  thing,  for  it  results  in  discussion  and  debate  in  the  legis- 
lative body  by  which  the  people  are  kept  informed. 

The  initiative  and  referendum  (p.  437)  are  also  weapons  in 
the  hands  of  a  minority;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  a  small  number  of 
voters  may  compel  the  legislature  to  consider,  or  reconsider,  any 
piece  of  legislation,  or  to  submit  it  to  the  people  for  their  decision. 
Minority  parties  may  thus  keep  prominently  before  the  people 
measures  that  have  been  adversely  acted  upon  by  the  majority. 

Another  device  that  has  been  introduced  in  some  states  and 
local  communities  is  the  recall  of  officials.  By  means  of  this  a 
specified  number  of  voters  may  demand  that  an 

r-r-  ft  i«i»i«  1  J.1IC   rC  C3.il 

officer  of  the  government  who  is  displeasmg  to  them 
be  brought  before  the  people  for  their  vote  as  to  whether  he 
shall  be  removed  from  office  or  not.     A  small  minority  may 
thus  call  a  public  official  to  account. 

One  plan  strongly  advocated  by  some  students  of  government 
to  insure  to  minorities  an  actual  voice  in  government  is  that  of 
proportional  representation  of  parties  in  legislative  proportional 
bodies.  By  this  plan  each  party  would  be  repre-  representa- 
sented  in  proportion  to  its  strength.  If  two  parties  ^°^  °  ^^ 
were  of  about  equal  strength  they  would  be  represented  equally; 
if  one  were  twice  as  strong  as  another,  it  would  have  twice  the 
representation.  The  plan  is  actually  in  use  in  very  few  localities. 
In  Illinois,  however,  the  cumulative-vote  plan  is  in  use,  by  which 
each  voter  is  permitted  as  many  votes  as  there  are  places  to  be 
filled,  and  to  distribute  these  votes  among  the  several  candidates 
or  to  cast  them  all  for  one  candidate.  Thus,  if  there  are  three 
representatives  to  be  elected  from  his  district,  he  may  give  one 
vote  to  each  of  the  three,  or  he  may  give  three  votes  to  one  of 
them.  A  minority  may  thus,  by  concentrating  all  of  their  votes 
upon  a  single  candidate,  be  reasonably  sure  of  representation. 
But  it  requires  good  team  work  to  get  this  result. 


448  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Representation  in  our  government  is  on  a  territorial,  or  geographical,  basis; 

that  is,  each  representative  represents  the  people  in  a  given  territory  or 

district.    Thus  in  many  counties  the  board  of  supervisors  is 

1   eren  composed  of  representatives  from  each  township,  the  mem- 

bases  of  rep- 

resentation        ^^'■^  °^  state  legislatures  represent  districts  of  the  state,  mem- 
bers of  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives  represent 
congressional  districts  in  each  state,  and  United  States  Senators  represent 
states. 

In  each  district  under  our  present  system,  however,  the  representatives 
are  elected  by  a  majority,  though  they  are  supposed  to  represent  all  the  people 
when  elected.  If  proportional  representation  were  adopted,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  increase  the  number  of  representatives  from  each  district,  in 
order  that  each  party  should  have  at  least  one.  Then  we  should  have 
representation  by  parties  as  well  as  by  districts. 

We  now  hear  a  good  deal  about  soviet  government  in  Russia.  The  "soviet" 
is  a  representative  body  with  a  different  basis  of  representation  than  either 
of  the  above.  Soviet  government  is  government  by  '"workers"  and  each 
representative  represents  a  trade  or  occupation.  It  is  as  if,  in  our  country,  all 
the  farmers  in  a  county,  as  a  group,  should  elect  their  representatives  to  the 
board  of  county  supervisors,  all  the  carpenters  their  representatives,  all  the 
merchants  theirs,  and  so  on.  It  would  be,  as  it  is  in  Russia,  representation  by 
occupational  groups,  instead  of  by  geographical  districts  as  now.  It  would 
differ  from  proportional  representation  by  parties,  as  described  above,  be- 
cause each  political  party  is  made  up  of  representatives  of  all  oc- 
cupations. Only  in  a  few  cases  have  political  parties  in  our  country  tended 
to  become  identified  with  occupational  interests,  as  in  the  case  of  "labor 
parties,"  and  the  old  "greenback  party,"  which  was  largely  made  up  of 
farmers. 

At  election  time  visit  the  nearest  polling  place,  observe  the  procedure  of 
voting,  and  report.     Get  sample  copies  of  the  ballot  used. 

Who  are  the  different  persons  on  duty  at  the  polling  place,  and  what  are 
their  duties? 

Why  and  how  do  voters  "register"  before  an  election? 

Describe  a  primary  election  in  your  community. 

How  do  discussion  and  debate  protect  the  rights  of  minorities? 

Is  the  "recall"  used  in  your  state?  If  so,  what  instances  of  its  exercise 
do  you  know,  and  what  were  the  circumstances? 

What  advantages  and  disadvantages  can  you  see  in  representation  by 
occupational  groups  as  compared  with  representation  by  geographical 
districts  ? 


HOW  WE  GOVERN  OURSELVES  449 

READINGS 

In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

Contributions  of  the  West  to  democracy  (F.  J.  Turner),  pp.  72-97. 
A  charter  of  democracy  (Theodore  Roosevelt),  pp.  1 14-132. 
Can  democracy  be  organized?    (E.  A.  .Mderman),  pp.  158-174. 
The  sovereignty  of  the  people  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  257-260. 
General  tendency  of  the  laws  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  261-266. 
The  activity  of  the  body  politic  (A.  de  Tocqueville),  pp.  267-272. 
The  German  and  the  American  temper  (Kuno  Francke),  pp.  273—281. 
The  "Divine  Average"  (G.  Lowes  Dickinson),  pp.  282-284. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Farewell  Address  (Washington),  pp.  105-123. 
The  independent  in  politics  (James  RusseU  Lowell),  pp.  241-243. 
Liberty  is  responsibility,  not  license  (McKinley),  pp.  254-255. 
The  right  of  the  people  to  rule  (Roosevelt),  pp.  272-273. 
In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 
Series  A:  Lesson  16,  Caste  in  India. 

Lesson  19,  Active  citizenship. 
Series  C:  Lesson  17,  Custom  as  a  basis  for  law. 
Lesson  18,  Cooperation  through  law. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  chaps,  iv,  v. 
Ashley,  R.  L.,  The  New  Civics  (Macmillan),  chaps,  vi,  vii. 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  chaps,  v-viii  (World 

Book  Co.). 
Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  II,  Part  iii.  The  party  system;  ana 

Part  v,  chaps,  xcvii— xcix,  The  faults  and  strength  of  democracy. 
Encyclopedia  of  American  Government,  under  the  several  topics  referred  to  in  this 

chapter. 
Teachable  Facts   about  Bolshevism  and  Sovielism,   Institute   for  Public   Service, 
51  Chambers  St.,  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

TOWNSHIP  AND   COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS 

When  the  first  colonists  of  America  undertook  to  organize 
governments  for  their  settlements,  they  naturally  adopted 
Units  of  local  forms  with  which  they  had  been  familiar  in  Eng- 
government  land.  There  were  two  such  forms  which  met  their 
needs,  the  town,  or  township,  and  the  county.  These  have 
remained  to  this  day  the  chief  units  of  our  local  government. 

Geographical  conditions  were  such  in  New  England  that  the 
colonists  settled  in  compact  communities.  There  the  township. 
The  New  ^'^  town,  was  adopted  as  the  more  convenient  unit. 
England  It  included  a  central  village  and  the  neighboring 

farming  region  with  irregular  boundaries.  It  is 
still  the  unit  of  local  government  throughout  rural  New  England, 
and  in  many  communities  that  have  grown  to  the  proportion 
of  cities.  It  has  been  said  of  the  New  England  town  govern- 
ment that  it  is  "the  fullest  and  most  perfect  example  of  local 
self-government  either  then  or  now  in  existence.  .  .  .  The 
state  might  fall  to  pieces,  and  the  town  would  still  supply  all 
the  wants  of  every-day  government."  ^ 

The  chief  feature  of  the  New  England  town  government  is 
the  town  meeting,  which  is  an  assemblage  of  the  voters  of  the 
The  town  town  at  the  town  hall  (formerly  often  at  the 
meeting  church).    It  is  called  by  the  selectmen  (see  below) 

by  means  of  a  warrant  which  contains  a  statement  of  the 
business  to  be  transacted.  Reports  are  made  by  the  town  offi- 
cers, officers  for  the  new  year  are  elected,  by-laws  (town  laws) 

'  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonics  in  America,  p.  414. 

450 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  45 1 

are  enacted,  taxes  are  levied  and  appropriations  made  for  the 
various  purposes  of  government.  It  is  direct  self-government 
(see  page  436). 

Among  the  officers  elected  by  the  town  meeting  are  the 
selectmen,  varying  in  number  from  three  to  nine,  who  have 
charge  of  the  town  property  and  are  responsible  to  j^^^  England 
the  town  meeting  for  the  conduct  of  the  town's  town  officers 
business;  a  town  clerk,  who  keeps  the  town  records,  issues 
marriage  licenses,  registers  births  and  deaths,  and  performs 
other  clerical  services;  an  assessor  of  taxes;  a  treasurer;  several 
constables,  who  have  police  duties,  execute  warrants  issued 
by  the  selectmen  and  by  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  some- 
times act  as  tax  collectors;  school  committeemen;  overseers 
of  the  poor;  members  of  the  board  of  health  and  of  other  boards 
for  public  service  In  some  of  the  New  England  states  the 
justices  of  the  peace,  who  are  not  strictly  town  officers  (see 
page  512),  are  elected  by  the  town  meeting. 

There  is  here  given  a  copy  of  portions  of  a  warrant  for  a 
special  town  meeting.    This  warrant  is  very  brief  The  town 
as  compared  with  those  issued  for  a  regular  annual  warrant 
meeting;    but   it   gives    an   idea    of    the    variety    of    business 
transacted. 

TOWN  WARRANT 

Middlesex,  ss. 

To  Henry  Atchison  one  of  the  constables  of  the  Town  of  Framingham  or 
to  either  of  them,  Creeling: 

In  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  you  are  hereby 

required  to  notify  and  warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Framingham, 

qualified  to  vote  in  elections,  and  Town  affairs,  to  meet  at  the  Casino  in 

said  Framingham,  on 

Wednesday,  July  i6lh,  a.d.  igig 
at  eight  o'clock  p.m.     Then  and  there  to  act  on  the  following  articles,  viz  : 
Article  i.     To  hear  and  act  upon  such  reports  of  any  of  the  officers  of  the 
Town  or  Committees  of  the  Town  as  may  be  then  and  there  presented,  ap- 
propriate money  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  thereof,  or  any  of  them, 


452  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

pass  any  vote  or  take  any  action  relative  to  any  of  said  reports,  or  any  part 
thereof. 

Art.  2.  To  hear  and  act  on  the  report  of  the  Committee  directed  to  investi- 
gate school  needs  in  the  Apple  Street  District.  .  .  . 

Art.  3.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  instruct  the  Town  Treasurer  to 
place  to  the  credit  of  the  Park  Department  ...  for  the  care  and  mainte- 
nance of  parks  and  playgrounds,  any  and  all  sums  of  money  which  may  be 
received  by  him  .  .  on  account  of  said  Department,  and  authorize  the  use 
of  the  same  by  said  Department.  .  .  . 

Art.  4.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  grant  or  appropriate  a  sum  not  exceeding 
twenty-live  hundred  dollars  ($2500)  for  the  purchase  by  the  tree  warden 
of  a  new  tree  spraying  machine.  .  .  . 

Art.  5.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  authorize  its  Board  of  Park  Commissioners 
to  sell  and  dispose  of  two  of  the  unused  schoolhouses  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Park  Commission  some  years  ago.  .  .  . 

Art.  6.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  appropriate  the  sum  of  fifty-five  hundred 
dollars  ...  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  following  committee 
...  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  site,  location  and  erection  of  a  temporary 
memorial  tablet,  and  cause  to  be  inscribed  thereon  the  names  of  the  Fram- 
ingham  soldiers,  sailors,  marines  .  .  .  and  nurses,  who  gave  their  lives  in 
the  late  war.  ... 

Art.  8.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  install  and  maintain  incandescent 
electric  lights  on  following  named  streets.  .  .  . 

Art.  9.  To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  raise  the  pay  of  its  Police  Officers 
fifty  cents  a  day.  .  .  . 

Art.  10.   To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  appoint  and  instruct  a  committee 
to  petition  the  County  Commissioners  to  relocate  Marble  Street.  .  .  . 
Art.  12.   To  see  if  the  Town  will  vote  to  appropriate  a  sum  ...  to  reim- 
burse Wellington  H.  Pratt  for  expenses  incurred  in  the  construction  of  a 
sewer  and  laying  of  water  pipes.  .  .  . 

And  you  are  directed  to  serve  this  warrant  by  posting  an  attested  copy 
of  the  same  at  each  of  the  Meeting  Houses  and  Post-Oflices  in  said  Town, 
eight  days  at  least,  including  two  Sundays,  before  the  time  of  holding  said 
meeting. 

Hereof  fail  not,  and  make  due  return  of  this  warrant,  with  your  doing 
thereon,  to  the  Town  Clerk  at  the  time  and  place  of  said  meeting. 

Given  under  our  hands  this  first  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  nineteen. 

(Signed  by  the  Selectmen) 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  453 

It  has  been  said  that 

The  thing  most  characteristic  of  a  town  meeting  is  the  hvely  and  educat- 
ing debate;  for  attendants  on  town  meeting  from  year  to  year  become 
skilled  in  parliamentary  law,  and  effective  in  sharp,  quick  ar- 
gument on  their  feet.    Children  and  others  than  voters  are     Tne  value 
allowed  to  be  present  as  spectators.   In  every  such  assembly,     meeting 
four  or  five  men  ordinarily  do  half  the  talking;  but  any- 
body has  a  right  to  make  suggestions  or  propose  amendments,  and  occa- 
sionally even  a  non-voter  is  allowed  to  make  a  statement;  and  the  debate 
is  often  very  effective."  ^ 

Another  w^riter  says, 

The  retiring  officers  present  their  reports,  which  in  the  larger  towns  have 
been  previously  printed  and  distributed.  Any  citizen  present  is  free  to 
express  any  criticism  or  ask  any  question.  No  better  method  of  checking 
the  conduct  of  public  officers  has  ever  been  discovered  than  this  system  of 
report  in  open  meeting.  Keen  questions  and  sharp  comment  rip  open  and 
expose  to  view  the  true  inwardness  of  the  officers'  behavior 

At  its  best,  the  New  England  town  meeting  has  never  been  equalled  as 
a  mechanism  for  local  government.  No  mere  representative  system  can 
give  the  opportunity  for  real  participation  in  government  which  a  town 
meeting  affords.  Even  the  small  boys  who  come  to  enjoy  the  fun  from  the 
gallery  are  taught  that  government  is  a  hving  reality.  By  grappling  first- 
hand with  their  own  small  local  problems,  men  are  trained  to  take  part 
wisely  in  the  bigger  affairs  of  state  and  nation.^ 

Changing  conditions,  however,  have  tended  to  bring  about 

changes  in  town  government.     In   the  early  days  the  town 

meeting  was  a  matter  of  great  interest,  and  every- 

,     J  .L       1    1    •      1     !•  1  1      1  •!  ,  Weakening  of 

body  attended,  mcludmg  the  women  and  children,   government 

Many    of    the    towns    have    now   acquired  large  ^^  ^^^'^ 
1      •  I  1  1  .         ,    meeting 

populations,  the  people  are  no  longer  acquamted 

with  one  another,  and  interest  has  declined.      A  few  years  ago 

it  was  reported  that 

In  Brookline,  Mass.,  with  about  2500  votes  cast,  there  are  from  300 
to  500  at  the  business  sessions.   In  Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  with  2500  voters  .  .  . 

'  Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  Actual  Govemmtm  p   171. 

^  Thomas  H.  Reed.  Form  and  Functions  of  Amerkan  Government,  pp.  218,  220. 


454  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

from  500  to  600  attended  the  annual  appropriation  meeting.  In  Leominster, 
Mass.,  with  1400  voting,  the  normal  attendance  is  about  800. 

The  same  writer  says  that 

In  many  places  the  town  meeting  is  being  undermined  by  the  caucus, 
held  beforehand,  to  nominate  candidates  for  office.  Here  a  small  group 
of  persons  not  only  narrow  the  choice  for  officers,  but  often  arrange  the 
other  business  to  be  determined  at  the  town  meeting.  Sometimes  every- 
thing is  'cut  and  dried'  before  it  comes  up  for  popular  discussion;  and  that 
discussion  thus  becomes  a  mere  formality.' 

This  illustrates  what  was  said  in  the  preceding  chapter  (p. 
444)  about  the  necessity  for  leadership  and  the  tendency  of  the 
Influences  people,  under  certain  conditions,  to  accept  self- 
leading  to  appointed  leaders,  sometimes  not  of  the  best, 
outside  of  the  government.  Conditions  in  large 
towns  are  likely  to  favor  this.  The  questions  that  have  to  be 
acted  upon  are  more  complicated  than  formerly,  and  often 
involve  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money.  The  candi- 
dates for  office  are  not  known  to  many  of  the  voters.  There 
may  be  a  considerable  number  of  uneducated  people  in  the  town, 
and  perhaps  a  foreign  population  that  is  unfamiliar  with  the 
English  language  and  with  American  methods.  These  things 
make  intelligent  self-government  by  direct  methods  difficult. 

Various  means  have  been  adopted  to  meet  these  changing 
conditions.  One  of  these  is  the  creation  of  a  finance  committee, 
The  finance  before  which  are  brought  for  consideration  ques- 
committee  a      tions  involving  the  expenditure  of  money.    This 

means  of  .  °  .  .... 

better  committee  holds  hearings,  at  which  citizens  may 

service  present  arguments  for  and  against  proposed  mea- 

sures. Thus  important  matters  are  sifted  out  by  the  committee 
which  then  reports  to  the  town  meeting.  The  town  meeting 
usually  votes  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
committee.  While  this  arrangement  tends  to  secure  careful 
consideration  of  financial  measures,  and  to  result  in  wise  deci- 

1  J.  A.  Fairlie,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns  and  Villages,  pp   148,  155. 


TOWNSfflP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS 


455 


sions,  provided  the  committee  is  composed  of  reliable  men,  it 
tends,  on  the  other  hand,  to  prevent  discussion  in  open  town 
meeting,  to  make  the  vote  in  the  latter  a  mere  matter  of  form, 
and  to  destroy  interest  in  it.  In  other  words,  while  it  tends  to 
better  service,  it  reduces  the  value  of  the  town  meeting  as  a 
means  of  education  for  democracy. 


Advertising  the  Budget  Exhibit  in  New  York  City 


Another  arrangement  that  has  been  adopted  in  a  good  many 
towns  is  the  town  planning  board.  This  is  a  committee  which, 
after  careful  study  of  existing  conditions  and  ten-  Town 
dencies  of  community  growth,  formulates  a  definite  Planning 
plaft  for  the  promotion  of  the  community's  interests  during  a 
period  of  years.  It  considers  such  matters  as  the  laying  out  of 
new  roads  and  streets  and  the  improvement  of  old  ones,  the 
location  of  parks,  playgrounds,  and  public  buildings,  the  con- 
struction of  sewers,  water  works,  and  lighting  systems,  the 
style  of  architecture  for  public  buildings,  the  enactment  of 


456  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

housing  laws.  It  may  also  plan  with  reference  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  educational  system,  the  promotion  of  public  healtli , 
and  for  social  needs  generally. 

The  town  planning  board  is  usually  composed  of  trained  men, 
such  as  engineers,  architects,  and  physicians,  and  it  may  call  in 
expert  advisers  from  other  communities  or  from  the  state  gov- 
ernment. The  advantage  of  having  such  a  board  is  that  it 
provides  the  town  with  a  program  of  action  carefully  worked 
out  from  the  point  of  view  both  of  continuous  community  needs 
and  of  economy.   It  affords  expert  leadership. 

As  has  been  said  many  times  in  these  pages,  government  is 

the  community's  official  organization  to  secure  cooperation; 

Need  for  ^^^  ^^  ^^  effective  only  to  the  extent  that  the  people 

citizen  cooperate.     It   is   a  machine   that   is  valuable  as 

cooperation        ,i  i  •,       rp,  ,        •  r  , 

the  people  use  it.  ihe  weakening  of  town  govern- 
ment, or  of  any  other  government,  is  due  largely  to  a  lack  of 
interest  and  of  actual  participation  by  the  people.  Many 
people  think  they  have  done  their  share  toward  good  govern- 
ment when  they  have  helped  elect  their  officers  and  have 
paid  their  taxes.  But  when  they  take  this  view  they  are 
likely  to  lose  both  interest  in  their  government  and  control 
over   it. 

In  some  New  England  towns  the  decline  in  popular  control 
of  town  government  has  been  largely  counterbalanced  by 
Voluntary  community  organization  for  voluntary  cooperation. 
community       Much  community  service  is,  and  probably  always 

will  be,  performed  by  private  enterprise  and  initi- 
ative rather  than  by  government  (see  p.  345);  and  the  eflS- 
ciency  of  government  depends  to  a  considerable  extent  upon 
che  efficiency  of  voluntary  enterprise.  Government  must  have 
the  cooperation  of  the  latter,  and  to  some  extent  work  through 
IL  In  practically  every  community  there  are  groups  of  people 
organized  to  cooperate  for  one  purpose  or  another;  but  they 
a:e  often  self-centered  and  act  independently  of  one  another, 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS 


457 


rLiferary 
C!ub 


Church  11 


VodgeK 


^blicSdwol 


iblic  Officiib^ 


What  One  Community  Found  ^ 
Organizations  self-centered 

if  not  actually  at  cross  purposes.    The  situation  that  exists 
in  many  communities  is  illustrated  by  the  chart  above. 

In  a  good  many  Massachusetts  towns  community  organiza- 
tion has  been  effected  under  the  leadership  of  the  Community 
Organization  Department   of   the   Extension  Ser-    Community 
vice  of  the  State  Agricultural  College.   The  organ-    j'n^Massa-"'^ 
ization  varies  in  detail  in  different  communities    chusetts 
to  meet  local  needs,  but  the  main  features  are  the  following: 

1  From  "Mobilizing  a  Rural  Community,"  by  E.  L.  Morgan,  Extension  Bulletin 
No.  23,  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College. 


458  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

First:  a  conimimily  coiimil,  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  various 
community  interests  and  organizations  including  the  town  officials.  This 
council  serves  at  first  as  a  sort  of  "steering  committee"  to  bring  the 
various  interests  together  and  to  plan  the  organization  and  the  work 
to  be  done. 

Second:  community  meetings,  the  first  one  of  which  is  called  by  the 
community  council  to  consider  the  questions:  Is  it  possible  for  a  com- 
munity to  plan  for  its  future  development?  Do  we  care  to  do  it?  Is  it 
worth  while?  How  can  it  be  done?  The  community  meeting  becomes  a 
sort  of  unofficial  town  meeting,  and  is  often  more  largely  attended  than  the 
official  town  meeting,  partly  because  it  is  attended  by  the  women  of  the 
community. 

Third:  a  number  of  working  committees,  appointed  as  a  result  of  the  first 
community  meeting.  They  may  include  committees  on  farm  production, 
conservation,  boys'  and  girls'  interests,  farm  business,  community  Hfe  (edu- 
cation, health,  recreation,  etc.). 

These  committees  make  a  study  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  com- 
munity in  their  respective  fields,  and  prepare  plans  and  projects,  which 
are  submitted  to  the  community  meeting  in  due  time. 

Fourth:  a  community  program,  which  has  been  agreed  upon  by  the  com- 
munity meeting,  is  supervised  by  the  community  council,  and  is  carried  out 
by  the  various  community  organizations  represented,  including  the  public 
officials. 

The  result  is  an  organized  community  somewhat  as  suggested 
by  the  chart  on  page  459. 

This  organization  is  entirely  outside  of  the  official  govern- 
mental organization.  It  may  be  asked  why  it  is  necessary  to 
Official  and  have  a  "community  meeting"  when  the  official 
unofficial  town  meeting  already  exists.    The  answer  is  that 

earn  wor  ^j^^  official  town  meeting  has  its  work  pretty  defi- 
nitely cut  out  for  it.  It  meets  infrequently  for  a  half-day  or  a 
day  at  a  time,  and  its  time  is  occupied  by  the  voters  in  passing 
laws,  electing  officials,  levying  taxes,  making  appropriations, 
and  doing  other  official  business.  The  "community  meeting," 
on  the  other  hand,  is  attended  by  non-voters  as  well  as  voters, 
the  women  take  an  active  part,  and  the  young  people  are  re- 
presented. Many  matters  are  discussed  that  could  not  properly 
be  taken  up  in  town  meeting. 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  459 


Church  Church 

1  11 


''oociil 
Club 


^Lirerary 
^Club, 


IWomens 
I  Group  I 


Gran5e\ 


Board  of , 
Jrdde , 


VWomen's 
\6roupII 


Improvcmai^ 
>A550ciariony 


public  School       Public  Officials 


What  This  Community  Now  Has  ^ 
A  longer  term  program 

A  large  part  of  the  program  of  the  community  organization  is 
carried  out  by  the  voluntary  agencies  of  the  community.  But  a 
great  many  of  its  proposals  must  have  the  approval  of  the  official 
town  meeting,  require  appropriations  which  can  only  be  made 
by  the  town  meeting,  and  are  finally  executed  by  the  public 
officials  of  the  town.  The  organization  naturally  stimulates 
interest  in  the  official  government,  and  brings  to  its  support 
all  the  organized  agencies  of  the  community  working  together. 

1  Adapted  from  "Mobilizing  a  Rural  Community." 


460  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  township  is  found  as  a  unit  of  local  government  in  many 

states  outside  of  New  England,  but  in  most  of  these  cases  its 

government    is    entirely    representative   in   form. 

government      While  the  town  meeting  is  found  in  a  few  of  these 

outside  of  states/  it  nowhere  holds  the  important  place  that 
New  England     .  .  t-  r- 

it  does  m  New  England.   One  reason  for  this  is  the 

larger  size  and  more  scattered  population  of  the  township, 
which  in  the  public  land  states  is  usually  six  miles  square, 
fixed  by  the  land  survey  (see  page  371).  At  the  head  of 
the  township  government  in  its  representative  form  are  trustees 
(sometimes  three,  sometimes  only  one)  who,  with  the  town 
clerk,  the  constables,  the  tax  assessor,  the  treasurer,  the 
justices  of  the  peace,  and  such  other  officers  as  may  be  required, 
are  elected  by  the  people.  The  powers  of  the  township  govern- 
ment outside  of  New  England  vary  in  different  states,  but  are 
always  quite  limited,  relating  most  commonly  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  roads,  school  administration,  and  the  care  of  the  poor. 
In  these  circumstances  there  is  at  least  as  great  need  for  com- 
munity organization  to  support  and  supplement  the  work  of 
government  as  in  the  New  England  towns. 

What  services  are  performed  by  your  township  government? 

Make  complete  list  of  your  township  officers,  and  the  duties  of  each. 
(Committees  of  pupils  may  interview  some  of  the  more  important  oflSicers 
to  get  a  description  of  their  daily  routine,  kinds  of  service  performed,  etc. 
Also  discuss  with  parents.) 

Look  up  officers  of  the  colonial  New  England  town  that  do  not  exist 
now,  and  their  duties. 

What  is  parliamentary  law?  (Valuable  training  may  be  secured  by 
conducting  school  meetings,  club  meetings,  or  occasional  regular  class  exer- 
cises, in  accordance  with  parliamentary  procedure.) 

Why  is  public  discussion  a  check  upon  the  conduct  of  persons  holding 
responsible  positions? 

Is  popular  interest  in  public  questions  keen  in  your  community? 

If  there  is  a  finance  committee  in  your  township  (p.  454),  how  does 

*  As  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey;  and  further  west  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Illinois,  and  Nebraska. 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  461 

it  serve  the  community?  Does  it  hold  hearings?  (Attend  and  report  upon 
some  such  hearing.) 

If  there  is  a  town  planning  board  in  your  community,  make  a  study 
of  its  activities. 

Is  your  community  more  like  that  represented  by  the  chart  on  page  457, 
or  by  that  on  page  459? 

To  what  extent  do  voluntary  organizations  in  your  community  cooperate 
with  and  through  the  local  government? 

What  is  the  feasibility  of  organizing  your  town  (or  community)  by 
some  such  plan  as  that  outlined  on  page  458. 

Discuss  the  value  of  a  community  "forum"  as  a  means  to  good  govern- 
ment. 

Procure  and  examine  recently  published  official  reports  of  your  township 
government.  What  do  these  reports  tell  you?  What  is  the  value  of  such 
reports?  Are  the  reports  of  your  township  generally  read  by  the  people  of 
the  township?  Why?  Discuss  ways  in  which  your  township  reports  could 
be  made  more  useful. 

The  other  unit  of  local  government  with  which  the  colonists 
were  familiar  was  the  county,  which  in  England  embraced  a 

number  of   townships.     In  the  colonies  of   New    „, 

,         .  The  county 

York  and  Pennsylvania  the  county  and  the  town- 
ship were  developed  together  as  in  England;  in  the  southern 
colonies  the  county  was  organized  without  the  township. 
To-day  the  county  exists  in  every  state  of  the  Union,  in- 
cluding the  New  England  states.  In  Louisiana  it  is  called 
the  parish. 

There  are  two  main  types  of  county  government.    According 
to  one  plan,  as  in  New  York,  each  township  elects  a  represen- 
tative to  a  county  hoard  of  supervisors,  which  is    Types  of 
sometimes  quite  large.    According   to   the  other    county 
plan,  as  in  Pennsylvania,  the  people  of  the  county    sovemmen 
as  a  whole  elect  a  small  hoard  of  commissioners,  the  townships 
not  being  represented  as  such   even  when   they  exist.    The 
board  of  supervisors  or  commissioners  levies  taxes  and  makes 
appropriations  for  various  county  purposes,  such  as  constructing 
and  maintaining  roads,  bridges,  and  county  buildings,  paying 
the  salaries  of  county  ofl&cers,  caring  for  the  county  poor,  and 


462 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


conducting  the  county  schools  (outside  of  cities).  It  is  some- 
times spoken  of  as  the  county  legislative  body,  but  it  is  rather 
an  administrative  body,  its  law-making  powers  being  very  slight. 
Among  the  important  county  officers  are  the  sheriff,  who  is 
chief  guardian  of  the  peace  in  the  county,  has  charge  of  the 
County  jail,  is  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  county 

officers  court  (see  page  513),  and  sometimes  acts  as  tax 

collector;    the   county   prosecutor  (also  called  the  prosecuting 


Fairfax  CotrRTHOUSE,  Virginia 

The  monument  in  front  commemorates  the  first  soldier  killed  in  the  Civil  War. 

attorney,  the  district  attorney,  or  the  state's  attorney),  who 
prosecutes  all  criminal  cases  in  the  county  and  represents  the 
public  authorities  in  civil  suits;  the  county  clerk,  who  keeps 
the  county  records;  the  register  of  deeds,  who  records  all  trans- 
fers of  property;  the  coroner,  who  investigates  the  cause  of 
violent  and  mysterious  deaths;  the  tax  assessor;  the  treasurer; 
the  auditor,  who  examines  the  accounts  of  county  officers;  the 
surveyor;  the  school  superintendent;  the  health  officer.  Some- 
times there  are  others. 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  463 

Although  practically  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  is  also 
a  citizen  of  a  county,  the  people  have  as  a  rule  shown  surpris- 
ingly  little   interest   in   county   government.     As 
generally  found  it  affords  a  striking  example  of  interest  in 

poor  service  resulting  from  a  lack  of  team  work,   county 

L,  11  .  .  ,     .         government 

County  government  has  the  reputation  of  bemg 

one  of  the  weakest  spots  in  our  whole  system  of  government. 

We  seem  to  have  got  into  the  habit  of  not  expecting  much 
service  from   the   county  government.    Where   the   township 
government   is   strong,    as    in   New    England,    it    -^jjj  county 
takes    the  place   of   county  government.    Where    government 
people  live  in  cities,  they  look  to  the  city  govern- 
ment to  serve  them  rather  than  to  the  county  government.    In 
rural  districts  the  people  have  come  more  and  more  to  look  to 
the  state  and  national  governments  for  such  service  as  they 
expect   government   to   give.   These   facts   might   suggest   the 
question  whether  or  not  we  really  need  county  government. 

One  recent  writer  says. 

There  are  some  parts  of  the  country  where  I  can  see  that  the  county 
will  pass  out  of  existence  entirely  in  a  very  short  time,  unless  it  does  adjust 
itself  to  the  new  conditions.' 

The  same  writer  says. 

Unless  the  county  does  measure  up  in  this  way,  the  powers  of  government 
and  the  services  which  it  renders  will  have  to  drift  away  from  local  control 
and  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  government  more  fit  and  which  will 
probably  be  further  away  from  home. 

Students  of  county  government  attribute  many  of  its  defects 
to  the  "long  ballot"  (see  page  444).  In  one  county  in  North 
Carolina,  at  a  recent  election,  there  were  twenty-  Effects  of  the 
five  different  candidates  for  county  offices  on  each  ^°"s  ballot 
of  three  party  tickets,  making  seventy-five  candidates  among 
whom  each  voter  had  to  choose.    Township  and  state  officers 

*  H.  S.  Gilbertson,  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October, 
1918,  p.  37. 


464 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


were  also  elected  at  the  same  election,  bringing  the  number  of 
persons  to  be  voted  for  up  to  about  fifty  out  of  150  candidates. 
It  is  apparent  that  the  average  voter  would  have  difficulty  in 
voting  intelligently. 


Courthouse,  Detroit,  Mich. 

The  long  ballot  has  other  results  than  the  mere  difficulty  of 
intelligent  voting.  One  of  these  is  a  government  without  a  head. 
Government  While  the  board  of  supervisors  or  commissioners 
is  nominally  at  the  head  of  the  county  government, 
it  has  to  work  through  the  various  administrative 
officers.  These  are  also  elected  by  the  people,  and  may  be  of 
the  opposite  political  party.    At  all   events,   they  are  inde- 


without  a 
head 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  465 

pendent  of  the  board,  not  responsible  to  it,  and  may  or  may 
not  work  in  harmony  with  it.  A  former  member  of  a  county 
board  in  North  CaroHna  says, 

Most  persons  are  under  the  impression  that  the  board  of  commissioners, 
with  its  chairma,n,  is  at  the  head  of  the  county  government  ....  The 
board  does  have  authority  to  say  how  about  19  cents  of  the  entire  tax  levy 
may  be  spent,  but  its  authority  over  the  balance  of  the  levy,  over  any 
county  official,  such  as  the  sheriff,  clerk  of  the  court,  coroner,  constable, 
county  judge,  or  recorder,  is  nil.  The  chairman  of  the  board  does  have  the 
honor  ...  of  smiling  and  trying  to  look  pleasant  when  complaints  are  made 
about  bad  roads,  excessive  tax  assessments,  or  the  delinquency  of  some 
county  subordinate,  over  whom  neither  he  nor  the  board  has  any  control. ' 

Another  result  of  the  long  ballot  is  the  opportunity  it  gives 

the  political  "boss"  to  control  the  selection  of  officers  (see  p. 

443).   It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  rural  citizens  ask    r^^^e  oppor- 

such  questions  as,  "What's  the  use  of  farmers  tak-    tunity  of  the 

.  .        .  "boss" 

ing  off  time  for  politics  when  the  whole  thing  is  run 

by  political  bosses  anyway?"^    "In  such  counties  office-seeking 

has  become  not  the  means  to  the  end  of  performing  service,  but 

exists  for  the  immediate  reward,  and  whatever  service  is  rendered 

to  the  people  is  incidental  to  that  other  object.  "^ 

Along  with  these  defects,  and  largely  because  of  them,  bad 
business  methods  have  characterized  county  government,  re- 
sulting in  poor  service  and  wastefulness  of  the  Bad  business 
people's  money.  A  faulty  system  of  keeping  °iethods 
accounts  is  as  unbusinesslike  and  disastrous  in  public  business 
as  in  private  business. 

The  practice  of  compensating  county  officers  from  fees  re- 
ceived for  special  services  and  of  allowing  them  to    The  fee 
retain  the  interest  on  public  money  is  one  illus-    system 
tration  of  extravagant  business  methods. 

1  M.  S.  Wiilard,  North  Carolina  Club  Year  Book,  iqi8,  p.  87. 

2  Graham  Taylor,  in  Rural  Manhood,  October,  1914,  p.  328. 

^  H.  S.  Gilbertson,  Forms  of  County  Government,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  37. 


466  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

For  many  of  the  services  performed  by  county  officers  fees  are  charged, 
on  the  principle  that  the  person  served  should  pay  for  the  service.  It  did 
not  occur  to  the  people  to  inquire  how  much  their  officers  were  getting  in 
this  way.  In  one  county,  in  which  there  was  a  large  city,  investigation 
showed  that  the  sheriff  had  a  net  income  from  fees  and  commissions  of  $15,- 
000,  the  county  treasurer  $23,000,  and  the  county  auditor  over  $50,000.^ 

Such  faulty  business  methods  are  gradually  being  corrected 
by  the  introduction  of  the  short  ballot,  as  in  CaHfornia  and 
elsewhere,  by  businesslike  methods  of  keeping  accounts,  by  the 
appointment  of  county  and  state  auditors,  and  by  giving  full 
publicity  to  reports  of  county  business. 

"But  after  all,"  says  the  county  official  quoted  above,  "a 

The  fault  great  part  of  the  shortcomings  of  county  officials 

with  the  and  a  great  deal  of  the  looseness  which  prevails 

in    the    management    of    county    affairs    can    be 

charged  to  the  people  themselves. " 

Another  says, 

The  first  thing  to  be  reformed  in  county  government  is  not  the  officers 
down  at  the  courthouse,  but  our  own  attitude  toward  the  county,  and  par- 
ticularly toward  public  office.  For,  after  all,  public  officers  in  this  country 
are  just  what  the  people  make  them  .  .  .^ 

This  is  as  true  in  cities  as  in  rural  communities,  for  the  city 
resident  is  dependent  on  his  county  government  for  many  im- 
portant services. 

There  are  those  who  advocate  breaking  up  the  county  into 

smaller  units  for  purposes  of  local  self-government,  as  in  New 

England.     Thomas   Jefferson,    living    in   Virginia 

the  local  where  the  county  was  the  sole  unit  of  local  gov- 

community  ernment,  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  New  England 
to  the  county  .  .  . 

town  meeting,  and  said   that  "public   education 

and  the  subdivision  of  the  counties  into  wards,"  or  townships, 

*  E.  C  Branson,  The  Fee  System  in  North  Carolina,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  Record,  No.  159   October,  1918  p.  69. 

2  H  S.  Gilbertson,  Forms  of  County  Government,  in  the  University  of  North 
Carolma  Record,  No.  159,  October,  1918,  p.  38. 


township'  and  county  governments         467 

were  the  "two  hooks"  upon  which  republican  government  must 
hang.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  opposite  tendency  to  con- 
centrate the  administration  of  schools,  roads,  health,  and  other 
matters,  in  the  county  government  (see  pages  146,  189,  271). 
The  fact  is  that  both  the  organization  for  centralized,  county- 
wide  government,  and  that  for  the  government  of  local 
communities  within  the  county,  have  their  uses.  Neither  can 
do  its  best  work  without  the  other.  The  problem  is  to  deter- 
mine what  the  business  of  each  should  be  and  to  establish  a 
proper  balance  between  them.  One  thing  is  sure,  namely, 
that  the  government  of  the  county  cannot  be  effective  unless 
the  people  of  the  various  communities  within  the  county  are 
organized  to  cooperate  both  for  their  local  interests  and  for  the 
interests  of  the  county  as  a  whole.  This  may  be  provided  for 
in  part  through  township  governments,  where  they  exist,  and  in 
part  through  such  unofficial  organization  as  that  described  for 
the  New  England  town  (page  456). 

Another  important  factor  in  county  government  is  the  control 
exercised  over  it  by  the  state.   The  county  is  not  only  a  local 

self-governing  unit,  but  it  is  also  a  division  of  the    ^^ 

°  ...  The  county 

state  for   the  administration  of  state  laws.    Its    as  a  sub- 
powers  of  self-government  are  given  to  it  by  the    ^}J^^^^^.  °^ 
state,  and  along  with  these  powers  it  has  imposed 
upon  it  certain  duties  for  the  state.   First  of  all,  the  county  is  a 
state  judicial  district.    The  most  important  building  at   the 
county  seat  is  the  courthouse.    The  county  court  is  one  of  the 
state  courts  described  in  Chapter  XXVII.     The  county  judge 
is  sometimes  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  county,  but  he  is  really 
a  state  officer.    In  New  England  the  county  is  almost  solely  a 
judicial  district,  and  in  all  states  its  judicial  purposes  are  of  su- 
preme importance. 

But  more  than  this,  the  county  schools  are  a  part  of  the  state 
school  system  and  must  be  administered  in  accordance  with 
state  laws,  though  by  county  and  township  officers.    County 


468  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

officers  must  enforce  the  health  laws  of  the  state.  County- 
authorities  not  only  levy  and  collect  county  taxes,  but  also 
collect  state  taxes  from  residents  of  the  county. 

Here  again  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  necessity  for  a  care- 
ful balance  between  matters  properly  subject  to  local  self- 
jjjg  government  and  those  properly  subject  to  state 

necessity  for  control.  Counties  have  suffered  both  from  too 
much  state  control  in  some  respects,  and  from  too 
little  in  others.  It  often  happens  that  the  citizens  of  one  county 
pay  more  than  their  share  of  the  state  taxes  because  it  has  better 
methods  of  assessing  and  collecting  taxes  and  of  keeping  ac- 
counts than  other  counties  in  the  state.  One  of  the  greatest 
needs  of  counties,  and  one  least  provided  for,  is  uniformity 
in  methods  of  keeping  accounts.  Some  states  have  established 
state  systems  of  auditing  county  finances. 

On  the  other  hand,  state  governments  often  interfere  in 
matters  that  might  better  be  left  to  local  determination.  Some 
"Home  counties  within  a  state  are  almost  wholly  rural, 

rule"  for  some  are  almost  wholly  urban,  others  are  mixed 

coun  les  j^  character.    A  form  of  government  adapted  to 

one  may  not  be  suited  to  another.  So  there  has  arisen  a  demand 
for  a  larger  degree  of  "home  rule"  in  counties.  In  Illinois, 
counties  have  had  the  right  to  determine  for  themselves  whether 
the  township  should  or  should  not  be  given  prominence  in  local 
government,  and  whether  the  "supervisor"  or  the  "commis- 
sioner" plan  of  government  should  be  used.  California  now 
has  a  law  which  provides  that  counties  may  apply  for  "  charters" 
in  the  same  way  that  cities  do  in  all  states.  The  "charter," 
like  a  constitution,  determines  the  form  and  powers  of  the 
government,  and  is  framed  by  the  people  of  the  county  them- 
selves, though  it  must  then  have  the  approval  of  the  state 
legislature. 

While  probably  half  the  counties  of  the  United  States  con- 
tain no  city,  or  "town,"  or  village  of  2,500  people,  there  is  in 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS 


469 


almost  every  township  at  least  one  compact  settlement  that 
has  grown  up  around  the  trading  center.  Sometimes  there 
The  growth  ^^^  several  of  them  in  a  township  and  many  in  a 
county.  In  such  compact  communities  coopera- 
tion becomes  necessary  to  provide  for  needs  that 
are  not  felt  in  more  rural  districts,  such  as  paved  streets,  sewers, 


of  urban 
communities 


C^iirl.-v  Thr  \,".c   Vnrk   ruhlir  Library. 

County  Election  in  Missouri  in  Early  Days 

A  mezzotint  by  John  Sartain,  after  a  painting  by  G.  C.  Bingham.    The  original 

painting,  made  in  1851-1852,  hangs  in  the  Mercantile  Library,  St.  Louis. 


public  water  supply,  fire  and  police  protection,  and  so  on. 
A  separate  government  becomes  necessary.  The  people  of 
such  communities  may  appeal  to  the  authorities  of  township, 
county,  or  state,  for  incorporation  as  a  village,  borough,  town. 


470  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

or  city.  "Village"  and  "borough"  are  simply  two  names  used 
in  different  localities  for  the  same  thing.  The  difference  be- 
tween them  and  an  incorporated  town  or  city  is  principally 
one  of  size  and  corresponding  complexity  of  organization. 

The  chief  governing  body  of  a  village,  or  borough,  or  incor- 
porated town,  is  a  small  council,  or  board,  elected  by  the  people. 
Government  It  has  legislative  powers  in  a  small  way,  enacting 
incorpm-ate^cT  Ordinances  for  the  regulation  of  local  officers  and  in 
towns  the  public  interest. 

In  Michigan  .  .  .  they  may  prescribe  the  terms  and  conditions  for  Hcens- 
ing  taverns,  peddlers,  and  pubHc  vehicles.  They  have  control  of  streets, 
bridges  and  public  grounds;  and  have  authority  to  construct  bridges  and 
pavements,  and  to  regulate  the  use  and  prevent  the  obstruction  of  the  high- 
ways. They  may  establish  and  maintain  sewers  and  drains.  They  may 
construct  and  control  public  wharves,  and  regulate  and  license  ferries.  They 
may  establish  and  regulate  markets.  They  may  provide  a  police  force  and 
a  fire  department.  They  may  construct  or  purchase  and  operate  water 
works  and  lighting  plants.  They  may  own  cemeteries,  public  pounds,  public 
buildings  and  parks.^ 

The  council  also  has  limited  power  to  levy  taxes  and  to  borrow 
money  for  public  purposes. 

There  is  a  chief  executive  offfcer,  sometimes  called  mayor, 
sometimes  president,  or  by  other  names.  Subordinate  to  him 
are  various  other  officers,  such  as  the  police  marshal,  the  street 
commissioner,  fire  marshal,  tax  assessor,  treasurer,  clerk,  and 
so  on.  In  larger  villages,  boards  of  health  and  other  boards 
and  commissions  exist  to  administer  various  forms  of  public 
service.  The  village  may  also  have  its  minor  court  presided 
over  by  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

When  villages  or  towns  reach  a  certain  population  usually 
fixed  by  state  law,  they  may  be  incorporated  as  cities.    The 
change  that  takes  place  is  simply  one  of  elabor-    city 
ating  the  governing  machinery  and  giving  to  it    Government 
larger  powers  to  correspond  with  the  larger  needs  of  city  life. 

*  John  A.  Fairlie,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns,  and  Villages,  pp.  207,  208. 


TOWNSHIP  AND  COUNTY  GOVERNMENTS  47 1 

The  complex  organization  of  city  government  we  shall  study 
in  the  next  chapter. 

How  did  the  county  in  Louisiana  come  to  be  called  a  "parish"? 

Describe  the  organization  and  powers  of  your  county  board. 

Make  a  list  of  your  county  officers  and  their  duties. 

What  is  the  sentiment  in  your  county  with  regard  to  the  efficiency  of 
your  county  government?   Is  the  sentiment  Justified? 

What  are  some  recognized  defects  in  your  county  government? 

Do  you  have  the  long  or  short  ballot  in  your  county? 

To  what  extent  do  the  people  of  your  county  study  the  reports  of  your 
county  government?  (Consult  at  home  and  with  older  friends.) 

What  do  you  find  of  interest  in  your  county  reports? 

Are  reports  of  your  county  published  in  the  newspapers?  Have  you 
examined  them?  Do  you  understand  them?  Ask  your  father  to  explain 
them  to  you. 

To  what  e.xtent  does  your  county  board  exercise  control  over  other  cou-^ty 
officers? 

To  what  e.xtent  do  the  farmers  of  your  county  interest  themselves  in 
politics? 

To  what  extent  do  the  people  of  your  city  interest  themselves  in  county 
government? 

Report  on  the  fee  system  in  your  county. 

How  and  why  are  public  officers  "just  what  the  people  make  them"  ? 

What  is  the  meaning  of  Jefferson's  remark  that  "public  education  and 
the  subdivision  of  counties  into  wards  are  the  two  hooks  upon  which  re- 
publican government  must  hang"  (p.  466)? 

Is  there  too  much,  or  too  little  state  control  of  your  county  government? 
Explain. 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  charter  and  a  constitution? 

To  what  extent  is  there  cooperation  (or  friction)  between  urban  and  rural 
districts  in  your  county? 

Report  on  the  organization  of  village,  borough,  or  town  government  in 
your  county. 

What  is  the  difference  between  the  "town"  as  referred  to  in  the  last  part 
of  this  chapter  and  the  "town"  as  described  in  the  first  part? 

How  is  a  village  or  town  incorporated  in  your  state? 

READINGS 

State  constitution. 

County  Government  and  County  Affairs  in  North  Carolina,  North  Carolina  Club 


472  COMMUNITY  CI\1CS 

Year  Book,  1917-191S  (The  University  of  North  Carolina  Record,  Extension 

Series  No.  30,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C). 
County  Government,  A  finals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 

Science,  vol.  XLVII,  May,  1913.  (36th  and  Woodland  Ave.,  Philadelplua.). 
Publications  of  the  New  York  Short  Ballot  Association,  381  Fourth  Ave.,  New 

York  City. 
Fairlie,  J.  A.,  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns,  and  Villages  (The  Century  Co.), 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  iv.  Local  government  in  action. 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  Part  iv,  Local  government. 
Beard,   Charles  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics   (Macmillan),   chap,  xxix, 

Local  rural  government. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT 

How  far  have  the  cities  of  the  United  States  been  successful 
in  developing  "good  government"?   How  far  has  our  own  city 
been  successful  in   this  respect?    In   seeking   an  The  problem 
answer  to  these  questions  we  must  keep  in  mind  of  city 
the  two  characteristics  of  good   government  ac- 
cording to  American  ideas:  efficient  service  for  the  people  and 
efifective  control  by  the  people.   We  have  seen  that  government 
includes  organization  for  both  of  these  purposes  (see  p.  435)- 
The  development  of  a  city  government  that  will  effectively 
provide  for  both  has  proven  to  be  one  of  the  most  difiScult 
problems  that  our  nation  has  undertaken  to  solve. 

As  in  the  case  of  township  and  county  governments  (see  pp. 
450,  461),  the  earliest  form  of  city  government  in  the  United 
States  was  modeled  after  the  prevailing  form  in   colonial 
England.     Accordingly,    the    colonial    American   citygov- 
city,  or  "borough,"  was  governed  by  a  council ^ 
consisting  of  a  small  number  of  ''aldermen"  and  a  larger  number 
of  "councillors,"  who  all  met  together  in  one  body.     There  was 
also  a  "mayor,"  but  he  was  simply  the  presiding  ofl&cer  of  the 
council,  by  which  he  was  sometimes  chosen,  though  sometimes 
he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  of  the  colony.     Rarely  was 
he  elected  by  the  people  of  the  city.     Even  the  council  was 
often  a  "close  corporation":  that  is,  it  was  a  self-perpetuating 
body,  vacancies  in  its  membership  being  filled  by  the  council 
itself.     This  form  of  government  could  hardly  be  called  "pop- 
ular." 

473 


474  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

After  the  Revolution,  changes  in  the  form  of  city  government 
began  to  take  place.  Until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
Supremacy  ^^^  council  rem.ained  the  most  important  part  of 
of  the  city  governments.   In  many  cases  it  still  consisted 

ci  y  counci  ^£  ^  single  body,  but  the  practice  became  quite 
common  of  dividing  it  into  an  upper  and  a  lower  "house," 
in  imitation  of  the  national  Congress  and  of  the  state  legis- 
latures. In  further  imitation  of  national  and  state  governments, 
the  mayor  was  made  largely  independent  of  the  council  with 
greater  powers  than  he  had  enjoyed  in  colonial  times.  Never- 
theless, the  chief  powers  of  government  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  council.  Both  council  and  mayor  were  now  elected  by  the 
vote  of  the  people  of  the  city. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  one  of  the  most 
striking  changes  in  city  government  was  the  shifting  of  the 
Decline  of  governing  powers  very  largely  from  the  council 
the  city  in    two    directions :    state    governments    assumed 

counci  more  and  more  control  over  cities,  on  the  one  hand, 

and  on  the  other  hand,  the  powers  of  the  mayor  were  greatly 
increased.  The  council  became  relatively  unimportant,  especially 
in  the  larger  cities.  Meanwhile,  there  was  a  growth  of  adminis- 
trative departments  subordinate  to  the  mayor,  with  heads 
largely  elected  by  the  people.  This  form  of  city  government 
was  the  prevailing  one  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  still  prevails  in  the  vast  majority  of  American  cities. 

Since  1900,  however,  there  have  developed  two  new  forms  of 
city  government  in  the  United  States.  The  first  of  these  is  the 
Commission  commission  form,  in  which  the  entire  governing 
form  of  city  power  of  the  city  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  "  com- 
governmen  niission, "  or  small  council,  usually  of  five  members. 
One  member  of  the  commission  is  designated  as  mayor,  but 
he  has  no  real  powers  apart  from  the  commission.  Each 
member  of  the  commission  is  placed  at  the  head  of  one  of 
the  administrative  departments  of  the  city,  but  all  policies 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  475 

of  government  are  determined  by  the  commission  as  a  whole. 
The  commission  therefore  exercises  both  legislative  and  exec- 
utive powers.   It  is  elected  by  the  people. 

The  most  recent  form  of  city  government  is  the  city-manager 
form.  In  this  the  small  commission  is  retained,  and  acts  as  a 
board  of  directors  for  the  city,  in  all  essential  City-manager 
respects  like  the  board  of  directors  of  a  business  p^*° 
corporation.  This  commission  appoints  a  cily  manager,  who  is 
like  the  general  manager  or  superintendent  of  a  business  cor- 
poration. The  city  manager  is  the  city's  chief  executive  ofl&cer, 
and  exercises  large  powers.  He  is  responsible  to  the  commission, 
which  may  remove  him.  Sometimes  he  may  be  "recalled" 
by  the  voters  of  the  city  (see  p.  447).  He  appoints  the  heads 
of  the  various  city  departments.  The  city-manager  plan  of 
city  government  has  achieved  excellent  results  and  is  becoming 
very  popular  in  the  United  States.  Some  150  cities  have  adopted 
it  within  the  last  dozen  or  fifteen  years,  though  none  of  the 
largest  cities  has  as  yet  done  so. 

These  various  experiments  in  city  government,  which  have 

been  sketched  above  only  in  the  broadest  outline,  and  which 

have  involved  the  widest  variety  of  details,  are   ..t,. 

-'  '  Ine  one 

the  result  of  the  attempts  of  the  people  to  secure  conspicuous 
better  service  from  it,  better  control  over  it,  better  ^'  "'^^ 
team  work  through  it.  These  attempts  have  often  seemed  to 
be  almost  in  vain.  A  noted  observer  of  American  government,^ 
writing  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  said  that 
American  city  government  was  "the  one  conspicuous  failure" 
of  American  government.  Let  us  now  examine  it  a  httle  more 
carefully  to  see  what  some  of  the  problems  have  been,  how 
they  have  been  met,  and  wherein  success  or  failure  has 
crowned  the  efforts  to  secure  team  work  for  service  in  city 
government. 

1  James  Bryce,  an  English  statesman,  one  time  British  ambassador  to  the  United 
States,  and  author  of  The  Atnericaii  Comtnonwealtk. 


476  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Interesting  reports  may  be  made  on  the  conditions  of  living  in  colonial 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York.  Entertaining  descriptions  may  be 
found  in  Henry  Cabot  Lodge's  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies  in 
America  (use  its  index).   Consult  your  public  librarian. 

What  form  of  government  has  your  city  now?  Has  it  always  had  this 
form? 

How  far  has  the  development  of  your  city  government  followed  the 
general  course  outlined  in  the  foregoing  pages? 

For  more  detailed  study  of  the  development  of  city  government  in  the 
United  States,  see  Readings  at  end  of  chapter. 

The  first  question  of  difficulty  is  that  as  to  the  extent  to 
which  cities  should  enjoy  the  right  of  local  self-government. 
City's  powers  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  many  points  in  our  study  how- 
must  be  interdependent  communities  are,  and  how  all  local 
*°^'*^  communities,  both  urban  and  rural,  are  bound 
together  into  state  and  national  communities  (see  especially 
Chapter  VI).  We  have  seen  also  that  this  interdependence  has 
increased  with  the  growth  of  our  nation  and  with  the  develop- 
ment of  better  means  of  communication  and  transportation 
(Chapters  XIV,  XV).  It  follows,  then,  that  no  city  should  be 
permitted  to  "do  as  it  pleases,"  and  that  its  powers  of  self- 
government  must  be  limited  in  justice  to  all  other  communities 
with  which  it  is  united  in  state  and  nation. 

Review  instances  of  this  interdependence  between  city  and  rural  commu- 
nities in  Chapters  x,  xi,  xiii,  xv,  xxii. 

As  in  the  case  of  townships  and  counties,  the  right  or  privilege 
of  local  self-government  is  given  to  cities  and  smaller  urban  corn- 
Sources  of  munities  by  the  state.  Cities  are  incorporated  under 
the  city's  state  law,  like  a  business  corporation  (see  p.  331), 

powers  receiving  a  charter  from  the  state  which  prescribes 

the  form  of  government  to  be  adopted  and  the  powers  to  be 
exercised  by  that  government.  Even  the  powers  granted  by  the 
charter  are  subject  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  state: 
thus,  the  health  ordinances  of  the  city  must  be  in  harmony  with 
the  health  laws  of  the  state,  and  the  city  school  system,  though 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  477 

managed  by  a  local  board  with  large  powers,  is  §till  a  part  of  the 
state  school  system. 

Prior  to  the  Revolution  some  twenty  cities,  or  boroughs,  all 
of  which  were  in  fact  only  small  towns,  had  acquired  charters. 
These  were  granted  by  the  colonial  governors,  who  Early  city 
represented  the  king  of  England,  often  on  request  charters 
by,  or  with  the  approval  of,  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities.  The 
colonial  legislatures  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter,  and 
interfered  very  little  with  the  city  governments,  which  under 
the  conditions  of  the  time  exercised  very  simple  powers.  After 
the  Revolution,  however,  the  charter-giving  power  passed  to 
the  state  legislatures. 

As  time  went  on,  state  legislatures  acquired  more  and  more 

control  over  cities.    In  early  times  cities  did  not  suffer  from  a 

lack  of  self-governing  power  because  their  prob- 

1  •      1       •        1  11-1  Increasing 

lems  were  comparatively  simple,  and  their  charters  control  by 

gave  them  all  the  authority  they  needed.  But  as  f*f*®  ^^s- 

isldturcs 
they  grew  in  size,  new  and  complex  problems  arose 

to  meet  which  the  charters  did  not  convey  the  necessary  author- 
ity. We  read  that,  as  recently  as  1911,  the  city  council  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  was  without  power: 

To  control  the  use  of  the  sub-surface  of  public  highways  as  a  means  of 
obtaining  revenue; 

To  prevent  disfigurement  of  streets  by  signs  and  advertisements; 

To  regulate  the  architectural  appearance  and  character  of  buildings 
fronting  upon  public  highways; 

To  manufacture  ice  for  charitable  distribution; 

To  prevent  the  invasion  and  depreciation  of  residence  sections  by  the 
location  there  of  industrial  establishments; 

To  banish  chickens  and  other  noise-making  animals  from  the  city; 

To  banish  dogs  from  the  city; 

To  prohibit  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  bill-boards; 

To  require  the  erection  of  gates  at  grade  crossings; 

To  require  the  isolation  of  patients  afflicted  with  tuberculosis; 

To  provide  public  lectures  and  public  entertainments.^ 

1  Charles  A.  Beard,  American  City  Government,  p.  33. 


478 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


„  ,..m 

ill' '  u'a'^'^T^- 


Old  City  Hall  (foreground)  and  New  MtTNicrPAL  Building 
(large  building  in  background) ,  New  York  City 

This  was  because  the  charter  that  Cleveland  had  at  that  time 
did  not  expressly  give  to  the  city  government  the  authority  to 
regulate  such  matters.    Instead  of  increasing  the  powers  of  city 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  479 

governments  to  enable  them  to  deal  with  new  conditions,  state 
legislatures  themselves  assumed  the  responsibility  of  regulat- 
ing the  affairs  of  cities  in  more  and  more  detail.  As  one  writer 
says, 

State  legislatures  have  acquired  the  habit,  which  has  in  some  cases  de- 
veloped into  a  vice,  of  enacting  into  laws  all  manner  of  limitations  upon 
municipal  independence,  and  this  not  only  without  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  municipalities  concerned,  but  often  in  direct  contravention  of  their 
interests  and  wishes.* 

One  of  the  first  steps  taken  to  check  the  interference  by  state 
legislatures  with  the  self-government  of  cities  was  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  provision  in  some  of  the  state  constitutions    . 

^  .11  Attempts  to 

forbidding  legislatures  to  enact  special  charters  check  leg- 

and  laws  for  individual  cities,  a  practice  that  was  jsiative 

'^  .  .        interference 

very  common  and  led  to  endless  tampering  with 

city  government.  But  uniform  legislation  for  all  the  cities  of  a 
state  was  found  also  to  work  grave  injustice.  "  Must  the  legis- 
lation for  a  great  commercial  and  manufacturing  city  with  a 
population  of  more  than  a  million  be  regulated  by  the  wants 
and  necessities  of  an  inland  city  of  10,000  inhabitants?"  asked 
a  Pennsylvania  court.  So  the  plan  was  adopted  in  some  states 
of  grouping  the  cities  in  classes  according  to  population,  with  a 
view  to  securing  appropriate  legislation  at  least  for  each  class. 
But  in  Ohio,  for  example,  while  the  cities  of  the  state  were  ar- 
ranged in  eleven  classes,  eight  of  these  were  made  to  contain  but 
one  city  each,"  the  legislature  thus  evading  the  purpose  of  the 
law  and  continuing  with  much  special  legislation. 

Thus  there  was  experimenting  with  one  plan  after  another  to 
check  the  interference  with  city  government  by  state  legis- 
latures.   But  in  no  case  did  a  city  have  an  actual    "Home  rule" 
voice  in  framing  its  own  government,  or  in  de-   ^°''  ^^^^^^ 
termining  its  own  powers  until,  in  1875,  Missouri  provided  in  her 

1  W.  B.  Munro,  Government  of  American  Cities,  p.  72. 

2  W.  B.  Munro,  Government  of  American  Cities,  p.  55. 


480  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

constitution  that  cities  of  more  than  100,000  population  might 
frame  their  own  charters.  Two  or  three  other  states  followed 
Missouri's  example  before  the  end  of  the  last  century,  and  a 
number  of  others  have  adopted  the  plan  since  1900. 

The  extent  to  which  "home  rule"  for  cities  is  carried  varies 
in  different  states.  In  some  states  the  privilege  is  extended 
only  to  the  larger  cities,  in  others  to  all.  In  a  few  states,  as  in 
Massachusetts  and  New  York,  a  city  may  choose  for  itself 
one  of  several  forms  of  government  prescribed  in  the  state  law. 
In  other  states  cities  may  draft  their  own  charters.  In  two  or 
three  states  the  charter  must  have  the  approval  of  the  governor 
of  the  state  as  well  as  that  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the 
city,  and  in  California  it  must  be  approved  by  the  state  legis- 
lature. The  charter  is  drafted  by  a  commission  of  from  thirteen 
to  twenty-one  members  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  city,  ex- 
cept that  in  Minnesota  it  is  appointed  by  the  district  court. 

Home  rule  gives  to  cities  the  right,  not  only  to  determine 

their  own  form  of  government,  but  also  to  exercise  all  powers 

over  local  affairs  that  are  not  in  conflict  with  the 
State  inter-  .        .  e       ^^ 

ests  must         constitution  and  general  laws  01  the  state;  tor  the 

be  safe-  interests  of  the  state  community,  and  of  all  other 

guarded  .  .  .,..,,  ,  ^ 

communities   within   its    borders,    must    be   saie- 

guarded.  Some  powers  are  therefore  expressly  denied  to  cities 
by  the  state  constitution.  In  doubtful  cases  it  becomes  the 
responsibility  of  the  courts  to  decide  as  between  the  powers  of 
the  city  and  those  of  the  state.  The  balance  between  the  in- 
terests of  the  local  community  and  those  of  the  state  is  a  dehcate 
one. 

The  tendency  at  present  is  to  increase  the  city's  powers  of 
State  admin-  self -government,  while  at  the  same  time  to  increase 
istrative  the  supervision  of  city  governments  by  state  ad- 

supervision       mifiistrative  authorities.    For  example, 

In  New  York  a  state  civil-service  commission  supervises  the  work  of  the 
civil-service  boards  maintained  by  cities,  and  holds  them  to  a  strict  con- 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  48 1 

formance  with  the  law.  ...  In  New  York,  Wisconsin,  and  other  states, 
public-utilities  commissions  adjust  the  relations  between  the  cities  and  the 
public-service  corporations.  By  state  boards  of  health  and  boards  of  edu- 
cation many  states  have  increased  the  strictness  of  their  administrative 
control  over  the  corresponding  municipal  activities.  In  at  least  a  few 
states  the  statistical  and  accounting  departments  of  state  governments 
have  enforced  progress  in  the  direction  of  uniform  municipal  book-keeping.^ 

This  administrative  supervision  of  cities  is  very  different  from 
the  legislative  control  of  which  we  have  been  speaking. 

Administrative  control  is  in  every  way  preferable  to  that  factious  in- 
terference with  local  autonomy  [self-government]  which  we  call  legislative 
supervision.  It  is  supervision  by  experts,  and  hence  is  based  upon  knowledge, 
not  upon  caprice;  it  is  consistent  in  policy;  it  does  not  give  unnecessary 
affront  to  local  self-respect;  and  it  is  effective  in  doing  what  it  sets  out  to 
do.  The  substitution  of  administrative  for  legislative  supervision  —  that 
is  to  say,  of  supervision  by  responsible  boards  of  trained  men  rather  than 
by  the  desultory  action  of  legislatures  —  would  be  an  influential  factor  in 
improving  the  relations  of  the  city  to  the  state,  and  would  thereby  have 
a  beneficial  reaction  upon  the  affairs  of  the  city  itself .^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  latest  stage  in  the  development 
of  city  government  marks  a  step  in  the  direction  of  better 
service  as  well  as  in  the  direction  of  better  control  ^j^^        ^ 
over  their  government  by  the  people  of  the  city,   for  better 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  steps  looking  to  better  ^®^"*^® 
service  and  those  looking  to  better  control  have  been  closely 
related  all  the  way  along.   One  of  the  main  reasons  why  state 
legislatures  acquired  so  much  control  over  cities  was  because 
city  governments  were  giving  very  poor  service  during  the 
major  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.    Cities  lost  their  powers 
of  self-government  because  they  did  not  govern  themselves  well 
through  their  own  organizations.   But  in  losing  their  powers  of 
self-government  the  cities  did  not  gain  the  expected  improve- 
ment in  service.   Even  if  state  legislatures  had  been  better  in- 
tentioned  than  city  councils,  the  remoteness  and  unfamiliarity 

*  W.  B.  Munro,  Government  of  American  Cities,  p.  74. 

*  W.  B.  Munro,  Government  of  American  Cities,  p.  76. 


482  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

of  most  of  their  members  with  the  pecuHar  problems  of  cities 
unfitted  them  to  govern  cities  well;  and  they  were  not  always 
well-intentioned  toward  cities.  This  accounts  for  the  swing 
back  toward  "home  rule, "  with  its  final  accomplishment  in  some 
states.  It  also  accounts  for  the  transfer  from  state  legislatures 
to  state  administrative  departments  of  a  large  part  of  the  control 
over  cities  still  remaining  to  the  states.  Another  thing  that  this 
transfer  emphasizes  is  the  necessity  for  trained  leadership  in  the 
affairs  of  government,  as  suggested  in  the  last  quotation  above. 

When  was  your  present  city  charter  adopted?  By  whom  was  it  drafted? 
How  was  it  adopted? 

What  is  meant  by  the  "corporate  limits"  of  your  city? 

What  powers  are  denied  to  your  city  government  by  your  state  consti- 
tution? For  what  reasons  are  they  denied? 

Are  the  cities  of  your  state  grouped  in  classes  for  purposes  of  state  con- 
trol? If  so,  how  are  they  grouped?  What  other  cities  are  in  the  same  class 
with  your  city? 

What  examples  can  you  give  of  control  over  your  city  by  state  laws? 
Is  there  any  feeling  in  your  city  that  the  state  legislature  interferes  in  its 
management  to  too  great  an  extent?   If  so  in  what  particulars? 

If  the  cities  of  your  state  enjoy  "home  rule,"  by  what  procedure  may  the 
charter  of  your  city  be  changed? 

If  the  cities  of  your  state  do  not  enjoy  "home  rule,"  is  there  any  marked 
sentiment  in  favor  of  it?   Consult  your  father. 

Give  examples  of  control  over  your  city  government  by  state  adminis- 
trative boards  or  officers. 

What  control  does  your  state  exercise  over  city  elections?  Why  should 
the  state  exercise  such  control? 

What  control  is  exercised  by  your  state  over  public  utilities  in  your  city? 
How  is  this  fcontrol  exercised?  What  is  the  reason  for  it? 

Give  examples  from  earlier  chapters  to  show  the  necessity  for  state  con- 
trol over  health,  education,  charities,  crime,  in  your  city. 

Discuss  the  second  quotation  on  page  481  (from  W.  B.  Munro's  Govern- 
ment of  American  Cities)  until  you  are  sure  you  know  what  it  means. 

To  what  extent  do  the  great  national  political  parties  enter  into  the 
control  of  your  city  elections?  Report  on  the  organization  of  one  of  these 
parties  in  your  city.  Show  how  control  of  city  politics  by  national  political 
parties  is  antagonistic  to  "home  rule."  See  Munro,  Government  of  Ameri- 
can Cities,  chap,  vii.) 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  483 

Home  rule  in  cities  means  little,  however,  unless  they  have  a 
form  of  government  that  insures  good  service  and  effective  con- 
trol by  the  people. 

We  have  seen  that  the  principal  governing  body  in  American 
cities  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  in 
many  cities  much  later  than  that,  was  the  city  Control  over 
council.  Its  members  were  elected  by  popular  "*y  council 
vote,  those  citizens  having  the  suffrage  in  city  elections,  as  a 
rule,  who  possessed  it  for  state  and  national  elections  (see  pages 
438,  439).  In  most  cases,  council  members  were  elected  by 
"wards,"  so  that  each  section  of  the  city  might  have  direct 
representation;  but  some  members  might  be  elected  ''at  large." 
Theoretically  this  election  by  the  people  gave  them  control  over 
the  council;  but  in  practice  cities  became  hotbeds  of  corrupt 
politics,  "bossism,"  and  domination  by  public  service  corpora- 
tions and  other  business  interests  (see  pp.  443,444),  and  the 
people  often  had  very  little  control  over  their  so-called  repre- 
sentatives. 

In  many  instances  the  council  was  divided  into  an  upper  and  a 
lower  chamber,  the  theory  being  that  each  chamber  would  act 
as  a  check  upon  the  other,  and  thus  reduce  the  likelihood  of 
improper  legislation  (see  pp.  501,  549).  In  practice  this  seldom 
seemed  to  have  any  other  effect  than  to  delay  legislation. 
There  was  a  decided  tendency  to  get  back  to  the  single- 
chambered  council. 

During  the  period  of  the  council's  supremacy  it  acted  both  as 
a  legislative  and  an  administrative  body.    For  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  city's  affairs,  such  as  police,  fire,  and 
1-11  -1  -1  •       1   •  The  council 

health  protection,  the  council  was  organized  into  as  a  per- 

committees.      At  the  best,  it  was  rare  that  this  former  of 

service 
system  gave  the  best  service,  especially  in  the 

larger  cities,  because  the  committees  would  be  composed  of 

average  men  from  all  walks  of  life,  without  special  training 

or  experience  for  the  work  they  had  to  do.  At  the  worst,  council 


484  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

committees  fell  under  the  influence  of  corrupt  politicians,  or  of 
corrupt  business  concerns  holding  or  seeking  contracts  with  the 
city.    Conditions  then  became  about  as  bad  as  possible. 

This  led  to  a  change  in  two  directions:  the  council  lost  to 
the  state  legislature,  as  we  have  seen,  much  of  its  law-making 
Mayor  form  power,  and  to  the  mayor  and  to  new  administra- 
of  city  gov-  tive  departments  practically  all  of  its  adminis- 
ernmen  trative  powers.  The  mayor  and  the  administrative 

departments  became  the  chief  elements  of  the  city  government. 
The  resulting  form  of  "mayor  government"  still  prevails  in  the 
vast  majority  of  American  cities,  and  was  a  long  step  in  the  direc- 
tion of  both  better  service  and  more  effective  popular  control. 

The  mayor,  like  the  council,  is  elected  by  popular  vote.  While 
his  election  may  be  determined  by  "bossism"  and  corrupt 
The  mayor's  influences,  it  is  nevertheless  easier  to  hold  one  man 
powers  responsible  for  his  acts  than  it  is  a  large  body  of 

men.  The  mayor,  formerly  little  more  than  the  presiding  offlcer 
of  the  council,  now  acquired  a  more  independent  position.  He 
also  acquired  the  power  to  ''veto"  ordinances  passed  by  the 
council,  and  otherwise  to  influence  legislation — by  his  messages 
to  the  council,  by  appeals  to  the  people,  and  often  because  of  his 
leadership  in  the  party  in  power.  He  further  acquired  the  power, 
formerly  enjoyed  by  the  council,  of  appointing  many  city  officers 
and  employees,  sometimes  even  the  heads  of  the  administrative 
departments.  The  last-named  power,  if  exercised  wisely,  made 
it  possible,  at  least,  to  secure  more  expert  leadership  in  the 
service  organization  of  the  government. 

One  of  the  chief  weaknesses  of  this  system,  however,  is  that 
the  people,  in  their  desire  to  retain  control,  insisted,  in  many 
Administra-  cases,  on  electing  the  heads  of  the  administrative 
tive  depart-  departments.  This  not  only  lessens  the  probability 
of  securing  expert  leadership  in  these  departments, 
but  it  also  makes  their  heads  independent  of  the  mayor,  scatter- 
ing responsibility  instead  of  concentrating  it  in  one  place. 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  485 

The  mayor  form  of  government  was  further  weakened,  as 
we  have  seen,  by"  lack  of  authority  to  do  many  things  most 
needed  by  cities.  This  was  in  large  measure  corrected  in  states 
where  "home  rule"  was  accorded  to  cities,  and  when  state 
control  over  cities  was  transferred  from  legislatures  to  state 
administrative  departments  or  ofBcers  (see  above,  p.  480). 

One  thing  that  greatly  increased  the  efficiency  of  city  gov- 
ernment was  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  which  occurred  in 
many  cities.  The  routine  work  of  a  city  govern-  The  civil 
ment  requires  the  services  of  a  large  number  of  service 
employees.  During  the  evil"days  of  city  government,  employees 
were  commonly  appointed,  first  by  the  city  council  and  later 
by  the  mayor,  not  because  of  any  proper  qualifications  for  the 
work  that  they  had  to  do,  but  as  a  reward  for  partisan  service, 
or  to  please  some  faction  or  private  interest  that  was  influential 
in  municipal  politics.  In  many  cities  the  civil  service  has  now 
been  placed  on  a  merit  basis,  candidates  for  appointment  being 
required  to  pass  competitive  examinations  to  test  their  quali- 
fications for  the  positions  to  be  filled.  Some  of  the  larger  cities 
have  civil  service  commissions  to  supervise  this  matter. 

The  most  radical  change  in  the  form  of  city  government  that 

has  occurred  in  our  long  struggle  for  better  government  was  that 

which   took  place   with   the  introduction   of   the   Experiment 

commission  form  (see  p.  474).  The  first  experiment  "^^^^  *^® 

•  1      1  •  •    1    •      /-.    1  rr^  •  commission 

with  this  was  tried  in  Galveston,  Texas,  m  1901,   form  of 

after  that  city  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  a  government 
great  tidal  wave.  Before  this,  Galveston  is  said  to  have  been"  one 
o^  the  worst-governed  urban  communities  in  the  whole  country."^ 
The  disaster  to  the  city  aroused  the  people  to  the  necessity  for 
the  most  efficient  management  possible  in  the  work  of  recon- 
struction. A  commission  of  five  business  men  was  therefore 
chosen  to  take  over  the  entire  responsibility  of  government,  the 
legislature  having  given  the  requisite  authority  in  the  emergency, 

^  W.  B.  Munro,  Government  of  American  Cities,  p.  295. 


486  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  Galveston  plan  was  at  first  looked  upon  as  a  temporary, 
emergency  government.  But  it  worked  so  well,  placing  the 
city's  affairs  in  a  short  time  in  far  better  condition  than  they 
had  been  before  the  flood,  that  it  was  not  only  made  permanent, 
but  other  cities  in  Texas  asked  and  obtained  similar  charters. 
Later  the  plan  was  adopted  by  cities  in  other  states. 

The  commission  plan  is  in  reality  a  return  to  the  early  form  of 

government  by  a  council,  but  with  important  differences.   The 

council,  or  commission,  is  much  smaller  than  in  the 
Popular  con- 
trol under  the    earlier  form,  and  is  chosen  by  methods  designed  to 

commission      secure  thoroughly  qualified  men.   As  the  plan  was 

extended  to  other  cities,  as  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 

the  use  of  the  initiative,  the  referendum,  and  the  recall  (see 

pp.  437,  447)  became  an  essential  part  of  the  plan,  thus  securing 

a  high  degree  of  popular  control  over  the  commission. 

The  commission  form  of  government  bids  fair,  however,  to 

be  superseded  by  the  city-manager  plan  (see  p.  475).    In  this, 

as  we  have  seen,  the  commission  becomes  in  all  re- 
Features  T,  1  1      r   T  1  •    •  1-    • 

of  the  city-        spects  like  a  board  of  directors,  determmmg  policies 
manager  g^j^^  employing  a  general  manager  in  whom  is  fixed 

complete  responsibility  for  the  administration  of 
the  city's  business  and  the  execution  of  the  laws.  The  city- 
manager  plan  retains  all  the  features  of  the  commission  plan 
that  insure  popular  control,  while  going  further  in  placing  re- 
sponsibility for  service  in  expert  leaders. 

The  National  Municipal  League,   an   organization  for  the 

promotion  of  better  city  government,  has  issued 
the  city-  a  little  pamphlet  containing  "The  Story  of  the 

manager  City-Manager  Plan:  The  Most  Democratic  Form 

plan 

of  Municipal  Government."  In  this  the  follow- 
ing statements  are  made: 

No  city  which  has  tried  this  plan  has  gone  back  to  the  old  way. 
The  plan  spreads  fastest  in  regions  which  know  most  about  it.    For  ex- 
ample, it  was  adopted  in  Dayton  in  1913  and  has  spread  rapidly  over  Ohio 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  487 

and  now  twelve  cities  of  that  state  have  it.  It  got  an  early  start  in  three 
small  cities  in  Michigan  in  1914  and  now  twenty-four  places  all  over  Michi- 
gan have  adopted  it.  Likewise  in  Texas  (seventeen  cities)  and  in  Virginia, 
where  it  governs  one-fifth  of  the  population  of  the  state. 

Numerous  investigations,  not  always  friendly  at  the  start,  have  been 
made,  and  the  reports  have  been  invariably  favorable. 

Four  out  of  every  five  new  charters  now  follow  the  city-manager  plan. 

The  "Model  Charter,"  drafted  for  the  Municipal  League  by  an  eminent 
and  well-informed  committee,  is  a  city-manager  charter. 

Political  scientists  without  exception  consider  it  the  best  form,  and  col- 
lege political  science  courses  teach  it  as  accepted  doctrine. 

The  city-manager  plan  has  not  entirely  escaped  criticism. 

The  principal  argument  against  it  is  that  it  is  "undemocratic, " 

because  it  reposes  all  governing  power  in  the  hands 

f        i-  ,„,....  r        ,  Democracy 

or  so  lew  people,    i  his  criticism  comes  for  the  most   under  the 

part  from  old-time  "politicians,"  who  see  their  city-manager 
hold  upon  the  governing  machinery  being  loosened. 
It  is  well  to  recall  what  "democracy"  means.  It  means  two 
things:  first,  government  in  the  interest  of  all  the  people  alike, 
without  favor  or  discrimination;  second,  government  over 
which  the  people  themselves  have  effectual  control  (see  pp.  9, 
49,  50).  There  is  no  question  that  city-manager  government  has 
so  far  proved  more  successful  than  any  other  that  has  been 
tried  in  enabling  the  community  to  hold  the  government  ac- 
countable for  its  acts.  So  far  as  experience  goes,  also,  city- 
manager  government  has  been  remarkably  successful  in  the 
amount  and  quality  of  service  rendered,  and  in  the  economy 
with  which  it  has  been  performed. 

One  of  the  best-known  examples  of  government  by  the  city- 
manager  plan  is  that  of  Dayton,  Ohio.    Following  ^j^^  e^peri- 
is  a  resume  of  service  rendered  to  the  people  of   ence  of 
Dayton  in  the   seven  years  since  the  plan   was      ^^  °° 
adopted  there:  ^ 

1  From  "The  Story  of  the  City-Manager  Plan,"  National  Municipal  League, 
261  Broadway,  New  York. 


488  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

It  "reduced  the  death  rate  and  infant  mortality;  inaugurated  free  nursing, 
medical  service  and  clinics,  and  extended  food  inspection;  passed  pasteuri- 
zation ordinance;  eliminated  seven  thousand  dry  vaults;  substituted  cor- 
rection farm  for  work  house;  abolished  prison  contract  labor;  established 
parole  system;  enlarged  summer  and  winter  recreation  program;  super- 
vised over  five  thousand  vacant  lot,  home,  school,  and  boys'  and  girls' 
gardens,  furnishing  free  seed;  increased  park  area  from  'twenty  to  five 
hundred  and  forty-one  acres;  increased  public  charities;  inaugurated  free 
legal  aid  bureau  handling  one  thousand  cases  a  year;  eliminated  eleven 
loan  shark  companies;  operated  free  employment  bureau  for  women;  re- 
organized police  and  fire  departments;  established  training  schools;  or- 
ganized crime  prevention  bureau  and  juvenile  police;  employed  police 
women;  motorized  all  fire  apparatus;  passed  building  code  and  provided 
inspection  of  buildings,  sanitation  and  smoke  prevention;  established  eight- 
hour  day  for  all  city  labor;  constructed  self-supporting  garbage  disposal 
plant;  bought  water  supply  and  lands  for  $67,000  as  against  an  earlier  bid 
four  times  as  high  and  gave  abundant  supply  for  the  first  time;  operated  a 
municipal  garage;  saved  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  per  year  to  gas 
consumers  by  securing  universal  natural  gas  at  34  cents  instead  of  artificial 
gas  at  85  cents;  contracted  for  better  street  lighting  at  lower  rates  despite 
modern  costs;  provided  adequate  budget  procedure;  reduced  floating  debt 
from  $125,000  to  $50,000  the  first  year;  put  civil  service  on  honest  basis;  pro- 
vided annual  audit  of  accounts;  publicity  on  all  city  matters;  appointed 
city  plan  commission  and  numerous  other  citizen  advisory  boards;  fostered 
a  civic  music  league;  published  35,000  annual  reports,  annually  distributing 
same  to  all  homes. " 

As  a  further  example  of  economy  under  this  plan,  Wheeling, 
W.  Va.,  is  reported  as  having 

And  of  saved   $12,000   by   combining  jobs  ....  Gave   city   new 

Wheeling,  electric  light  system  without  extra  cost.    Negotiated  new 

contracts  that  saved  the  city  $9,500  on  gas  and  $20,000  on 
electricity  per  year.  Made  the  traction  company  pay  half  the  cost  of  two 
new  bridges.  Discovered  old  government  had  signed  away  city's  rights  in  a 
telephone  merger,  started  suit  and  recovered  cash  and  privileges  worth 
$110,000.  Sold  old  city  gas  plant  to  good  advantage.  Defeated  street  rail- 
road fare  increase  by  proving  over-valuation. 

It  is  too  soon  to  tell  whether  or  not  the  city-manager  plan 
will  continue  to  meet  the  severe  tests  that  modern  city  life  im- 
poses upon  city  governments,  or  whether  it  is  to  be  the  pre- 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  489 

vailing  form  of  city  government  in  the  future.  So  far,  none  of 
our  largest  cities  has  tried  it.  The  largest  city  to  have  adopted 
the  plan  by  the  opening  of  1921  was  Akron,  Ohio,  Government 
with  a  population  of  208,000.  Our  largest  city,  New  of  New  York 
York,  has  long  had  a  modified  form  of  "mayor  '^ 
government,"  that  has  some  points  of  similarity  to  the  com- 
mission form.  In  that  city  there  is  a  large  " board  of  aldermen" 
which  has  lost  most  of  its  powers.  There  is  a  mayor  with  con- 
siderable powers,  and  many  administrative  departments  whose 
heads  are  for  the  most  part  appointed  by  the  mayor.  But  some 
of  the  most  important  powers  of  government  have  been  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment,  consisting 
of  the  mayor,  the  city  comptroller  (financial  officer),  the  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  aldermen,  and  the  presidents  of  the  five 
boroughs  of  which  New  York  City  is  composed  (see  p.  64). 
This  board  has  some  of  the  characters  of  a  "commission,"  and 
exercises  large  powers  over  the  city's  financial  affairs. 

The  city  of  Washington  is  governed  by  a  commission  of 
three  men.  There  is  no  mayor,  no  city  council,  and  no  city 
manager.  This  looks  like  the  commission  form  of  The  city  of 
government.  But  the  three  commissioners  are  Washington 
appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  Congress 
acts  as  a  city  council  for  Washington.  Washington  has  no  city 
government  in  any  real  sense.  It  is  but  a  part  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  its  government  is  that  of  the  District.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  city  have  no  voice  whatever  in  the  man- 
agement of  its  affairs.  It  is  governed  rather  as  a  department 
of  the  national  government.  Half  the  cost  of  the  government 
of  Washington  is  met  by  taxation  of  the  residents  of  the  city; 
the  other  half  is  paid  from  national  funds. 

There  is  reason  to  feel  assured  that  substantial  progress  has 
been  made  in  our  country  toward  a  form  of  city  government 
that  will  satisfy  the  demands  of  democracy.  It  is  well  to  re- 
member, however,  that  no  form  of  government  will  produce 


49©  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  best  results  without  intelligent  and  loyal  support  from  the 
people  all  the  time.  With  such  support,  good  results  may  often 
be  achieved  even  with  a  defective  form  of  government.  Intelli- 
gent and  right-minded  citizenship  is  essential  to  good  city 
government  under  whatever  form. 

If  you  do  not  have  the  "commission"  or  "city-manager"  form  of  govern- 
ment in  your  city: 

Which  is  the  more  influential  in  your  city  affairs,  the  mayor,  or  the  city 
council?   Prove  your  answer. 

Just  what  powers  does  your  city  council  have? 

Just  what  powers  does  your  mayor  have? 

Describe  the  organization  of  your  city  council.  How  are  its  members 
elected?  Is  it  a  single-chambered,  or  a  two-chambered  body?  If  the  latter, 
what  is  the  difference  in  powers  of  the  two  chambers? 

How  is  your  mayor  elected?  What  is  his  term  of  olSce?  Who  is  your 
present  mayor? 

What  administrative  departments  are  there  in  your  city  government? 
How  are  the  heads  of  these  departments  chosen?  What  are  the  duties  of 
each  department?   What  control  over  them  does  the  mayor  exercise? 

What  past  experience  and  training  has  the  head  of  each  administrative 
department  in  your  city  had  to  fit  him  for  the  position  he  holds? 

What  kind  of  showing  does  your  city  make  in  comparison  with  that  of 
Dayton  as  described  on  page  488  above? 

Look  up  carefully  the  "commission"  and  "city-manager"  plans  of 
government,  and  report  on  important  features  not  described  in  this  chapter, 
especially  with  reference  to  means  of  control  by  the  people  and  to  expert 
leadership  for  service.    (See  Readings,  below.) 

What  arguments  can  you  present  for  and  against  the  adoption  of  the 
city-manager  or  commission  form  of  government  in  your  city? 

If  your  c\iy has  the  "commission"  or  "city-manager"  plan  of  government: 

Report  on  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  adopted.  Also,  on  the 
method  by  which  it  was  adopted. 

Is 'there  still  opposition  to  its  continuance?  If  so,  on  what  grounds? 
What  changes  in  detail  are  spoken  of  as  desirable? 

Just  what  powers  does  the  commission  (or  council)  have?  The  city 
manager? 

How  is  the  city  manager  controlled?  Who  is  he?  Where  did  he  come 
from?  What  training  had  he  had  for  his  work?  How  may  he  be  put  out  of 
office,  and  under  what  circumstances? 


OUR  CITY  GOVERNMENT  49 1 

What  administrative  departments  are  there?  Who  are  in  charge  of 
them?  How  are  these  heads  chosen? 

How  are  the  employees  of  your  city  government  (the  civil  service)  se- 
lected and  appointed? 

In  employing  labor  to  do  the  city's  work  (such  as  street  cleaning,  garbage 
collection,  street  construction,  etc.)  is  it  better  for  the  city  to  employ  it 
directly,  or  through  contractors?  Why?  (For  a  discussion  of  this,  see  Beard, 
American  City  Government,  pp.  120-128.) 

Does  your  city  have  a  budget  system  (see  pages  510,  544)?  If  so,  who 
prepares  the  budget  estimate?  Who  has  the  final  word  in  determining  the 
budget?  Who  makes  appropriations  for  expenditures? 

Does  your  city  have  a  "budget  exhibit"?  What  is  meant  by  this?  Look 
up  the  subject  of  budget  exhibits  and  their  value.  (See  Beard,  America^i 
City  Government,  pp.  150-152.) 

Is  there  a  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  in  your  city?  Report  on  the 
work  of  such  bureaus  in  other  cities.  Obtain  literature  from  such  bureaus 
and  study  it.  (Write  to  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  of  New  York 
City,  or  that  of  Philadelphia,  or  that  of  some  other  city  that  you  know  has 
one,  for  literature.) 

What  voluntary  citizen  associations  exist  in  your  city  in  the  interest  of 
better  government? 

READINGS 

Your  state  constitution. 

Your  city  charter. 

Annual  reports  of  your  city  government  and  its  several  departments. 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A,  Lesson  ig:  "Active  citizenship." 

"     B,        "      19:  "The  commission  form  of  city  government  and  the  city 
manager." 
Beard,  Charles  A.,  American  City  Government  (Century  Co.): 
Chapter  ii — Home  rule 

"       iv — Municipal  government  and  administration 
"        v — Raising  and  spending  the  city's  money 
"       vi — Guarding  the  city  against  vice  and  crime 
"      vii — Franchises  and  public  utilities 
Munro,  W.  B.,  The  Government  of  American  Cities  (Macmillan): 
Chapter  i — American  municipal  development 
"       iii — The  city  and  the  state 
"       iv — Municipal  powers  and  responsibihties 
"      vii — Municipal  parties  and  politics 
"     viii — The  city  council 
"       ix — The  mayor 


492  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Chapter  x — The  administrative  departments 
"        xi — Municipal  officials  and  employees 
"      xii — City  government  l^y  a  commission 
"      XV — The  city-manager  plan 

Bruere,  Henry,  The  New  City  Government  (Appleton).  This  is  a  study  of  the  com- 
mission form  of  government  based  on  a  survey  of  ten  cities. 

Rightor,  Chester  E.,  City  Manager  in  Dayton  (Macmillan).  This  is  probably  the 
best  book  to  give  a  clear  picture  of  the  workings  of  this  form  of  government. 

The  Story  of  the  City-Manager  Plan.  This  small  pamphlet  published  by  the  National 
Municipal  League  (261  Broadway,  New  York  City)  gives  a  brief,  clear  state- 
ment of  the  organization  and  development  of  the  city-manager  plan,  with  a 
list  of  the  cities  using  it  at  the  time  of  publication.  Price,  10  cents. 

Woodruff,  Clinton  Rogers,  A  New  Municipal  Program  (Appleton) .  This  book 
presents  the  city-manager  plan,  and  contains  the  complete  text  of  the  "Model 
City  Charter"  for  this  form  of  government  prepared  by  a  committee  of  the 
National  Municipal  League. 

Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth  (Macmillan),   vol.  i,  chaps.  50—52. 
A  very  fine  description  of  the  council-mayor  type  of  city  government. 

The  National  Municipal  Review  is  the  best  magazine  for  current  information  re- 
garding every  phase  of  city  government.    261  Broadway,  New  York  City. 

The  American  City  (magazine)  contains  valuable  material  in  every  issue.  154 
Nassau  St.,  New  York  City. 

Municipal  Year  Book  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Municipal  Reference  Library,  New 
York  City.  Your  local  public  library  will  probably  have  a  copy  of  this.  It  is  the 
best  source  of  information  regarding  the  government  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS 

When  the  thirteen  original  states  were  colonies,  they  derived 
their  governing  powers  from  charters  granted  to  them  by  the 
king,  as  cities  and  some  counties  are  granted  char-    source  of 
ters  by  the  state.    When  they  won   their  inde-    governing 
pendence  the  people  of  each  state  substituted  a 
constitution  for  the  charter;  the  difference  between  a  charter 
and  a  constitution  being  that  the  former  is  given  to  the  people 
by  some  higher  authority,  while  the  latter  is  adopted  by  the 
people  themselves.    All  of  our  states  alike,  whether  created 
before  or  after  the  Union  was  formed,  are  self-governing  under 
constitutions  of  their  own  making. 

Counties  and  towns,  cities  and  villages,  have  no  powers  of 
self-government  except  those  granted  to  them  hy  the  state.  The 
national  government,  also,  may  exercise  only  such  powers  as 
are  given  to  it  by  the  people  voting  as  states.  Each  state,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  self-governing  in  its  own  right,  and  may  exercise 
through  its  government  any  power  whatever,  excepting  only 
those  which  it  voluntarily  surrendered  upon  entering  the 
Union.  (See  pp.  519,  523;  also  Constitution,  Art.  I,  sec.  10,  and 
Art.  IV.) 

The  state  constitution  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  state  and  is 
supposed  to  represent  the  direct  voice  of  the  people.    Since 
the  Union  was  formed,  state  constitutions  have    The  state 
been  framed  by  conventions  of  delegates  elected    constitution 
especially  for  the  purpose,  and  in  most  cases  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  for  their  ratification.    Amendments  may 

493 


494  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

be  proposed  either  by  such  conventions  or  by  the  state  legis- 
latures, but  they  must  also  be  ratified  by  the  people.  Some 
of  the  states  have  completely  revised  their  constitutions  several 
times,  and  amendments  have  been  very  numerous. 

State  constitutions  are  long  documents,  containing  a  great 
deal  of  detail  regarding  the  organization  and  powers  of  govern- 
ment.  In  this  respect  they  differ  from  the  national 
Cause  of  ..... 

length  of  Constitution,  which  is  brief  and  speaks  in  broad, 

state  con-  general  terms.  Recent  constitutions  are  longer 
stitutions  ^  ,  ,  . 

than  earlier  ones,  partly  because  there  is  a  greater 

variety  of  problems  to  be  dealt  with,  but  also  because  of  a 
growing  tendency  to  limit  the  powers  of  legislatures  and  admin- 
istrative officers. 

After  a  declaration  of  rights,  which  all  state  constitutions 
contain,  the  constitution  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  organi- 
A  republican  zation,  powers  and  duties  of  the  government.  Each 
form  of  state  may  organize  its  government  as  it  sees  fit, 

governmen  pj-Qvided  only  that  it  is  "republican"  in  form  as 
required  by  the  federal  Constitution  (Art.  IV,  sec.  4).  This 
means  that  it  must  be  a  form  of  representative  self-government. 

While  the  state  governments  differ  from  one  another  in 
matters  of  detail,  the  general  plan  is  the  same  in  all.  Each 
Separation  Consists  of  three  branches:  the  legislative  branch 
of  powers  f^j.  jg^^  making;  the  executive  branch  for  law 
enforcement  and  administration;  and  the  judicial  branch  for 
the  interpretation  of  the  laws  and  for  the  administration  of 
justice  in  accordance  with  the  law.  These  three  branches  are 
organized  on  the  principle  of  a  separation  of  powers,  to  prevent 
encroachment  by  one  upon  the  powers  of  the  others,  and  to 
make  each  a  check  upon  the  powers  of  the  others. 

In  the  government  of  this  commonwealth,  the  legislative  department 
shall  never  exercise  the  executive  and  judicial  powers,  or  either  of  them; 
the  executive  shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  judicial  powers,  or 
either  of  them;   the  judicial  shall  never  exercise  the  legislative  and  executive 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  '495 

powers,  or  either  of  them;  to  the  end  it  may  be  a  government  of  laws,  and 
not  of  men.    (Constitution  of  Massachusetts,  Part  I,  Art.  XXX.) 

Investigate  and  report  on: 

The  meaning  of  "a  government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men." 

The  entrance  of  your  state  into  the  Union. 

The  history  of  your  present  state  constitution. 

The  powers  surrendered  by  your  state  when  it  entered  the  Union. 

The  length  of  your  state  constitution  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
federal  Constitution. 

The  principal  parts  of  which  your  constitution  is  composed. 

Number  of  amendments  to  your  state  constitution.  When  the  latest 
amendments  were  adopted  and  why. 

The  declaration  of  rights  in  your  state  constitution. 

Checks  exercised  by  the  legislature  upon  the  executive  and  judicial 
branches;  by  the  executive  upon  the  legislative  and  judicial  branches; 
by  the  judicial  upon  the  legislative  and  executive  branches. 

The  chief  executive  officer  of  the  state  is  the  governor,  who  is 

elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  which  varies,  in  the  different 

states,  from  one  to  four  years.   It  is  his  duty  to  see    ^, 

The  governor 
that  the  laws  of  the  state  are  faithfully  executed. 

The  constitution  makes  him  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
state  militia,  which  he  may  call  upon  to  enforce  the  laws  or  to 
quell  disorders.  It  also  gives  him  the  power  to  pardon  persons 
convicted  of  crime,  in  the  exercise  of  which  power  he  is  some- 
times assisted  by  a  special  board  of  pardons  and  sometimes  by 
the  legislature;  but  the  consideration  of  the  pleas  of  such  persons 
and  their  friends  for  pardon  often  consumes  a  large  portion  of 
his  time. 

A  great  deal  of  the  govenor's  time  is  also  taken  up  with 
duties  devolving  upon  him  as  the  official  representative  of  the 
state  on  ceremonial  occasions,  as  in  the  laying  of    -pj^g       _ 

corner-stones  of  public  buildings,  attending  state    ernor's 

r  •  J  1  •        •  1-1  1  i.        1-T       varied  duties 

fairs,  and  making  innumerable  speeches  at  public 

meetings  of  all  kinds.   By  virtue  of  his  office  he  is  also  a  member 

of  many  boards  and  commissions  whose  meetings  he  must  attend. 


496 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  governor  also  has  some  part  in  law  making.  In  all 
states  except  North  Carolina  he  has  the  power  to  veto  bills 
The  gov-  passed  by  the  legislature.     This  check  upon  the 

ernor's  part  in  legislature  is  not  absolute,  for  the  legislature  may 
law  making  overcome  the  governor's  veto  by  again  passing  the 
bill,  usually  by  a  two-thirds  vote.   The  governor  may  also  in- 


k. 


/•_Lii. 


xjXlJi: 


iiiTii.  liii 


State  Capitol  of  Minnesota  at  St.  Paul 

fluence  legislation  by  means  of  his  messages  to  the  legislature 
in  which  he  recommends  measures  which  he  believes  should  be 
enacted  into  law.  In  case  of  opposition  by  the  legislature,  the 
governor  often  carries  his  proposals  directly  to  the  people,  who 
quickly  make  known  whether  or  not  they  support  him.  The 
governor  may  call  special  sessions  of  the  legislature  to  consider 
measures  of  especial  importance. 

The  governor  is  a  more  influential  officer  to-day  than  he  was 
in  the  early  part  of  our  history.  In  colonial  times  he  was  the 
Growing  in-  direct  representative  of  the  king,  or  of  the  colonial 
flueoce  of  the  proprietor,  and  the  people  sought  in  every  way  to 
governor  ^^^^  ^^^  powers.   After  the  colonies  became  states 

this  habitual  fear  of  the  governor  continued,  and  he  was  placed 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  497 

under  the  control  of  the  legislature.   As  time  went  on,  however, 

the  legislature  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  the  people,  while  the 

governor  was  more  and  more  looked  to  as  their  leader.   Thus, 

for  example,  the  veto  power  was  given  to  him,  increasing  his 

influence  while  it  curbed  that  of  the  legislature. 

But  the  power  and  influence  of  the  governor  are  by  no  means 

as  great  in  relation  to  state  government  as  are  the  powers  of  the 

President  in  relation  to  the  national  government,    weakness  of 

In  fact,  the  executive  branch  of  our  state  govern-    the  state 

•  1  executive 

ments  has  been  notoriously  weak,  and  its  weakness 

is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  of  county  and  city  governments: 
the  lack  of  an  effective,  responsible  head  (see  pp.  464,  484). 

In  our  national  government  the  executive  power  is  concen- 
trated in  the  hands  of  one  man.    State  constitutions  seem  to 

confer  the  same  powers  upon  the  governor.    The    _ 

.  .  Comparison 

constitution    of    Indiana    says,    "The    executive    of  state  with 

powers  of  the  State  shall  be  vested  in  a  Governor; "    i^^tion^ 
^  executive 

and  that  of  Pennsylvania  says,  "The  supreme 
executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  the  Governor."  But  the 
Pennsylvania  constitution  also  says,  "The  executive  depart- 
ment shall  consist  of  a  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth,  Attorney  General,  Auditor  General, 
State  Treasurer,  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs  and  a  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction"  (Art.  IV,  sec.  i).  Four  of  these 
officers  besides  the  governor  are  elected  by  the  people. 

In  all  states  the  governor  "shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be 
faithfully  executed"   (Pennsylvania  constitution). 
For  the  execution  of  the  laws,  however,  he  is  de-    compiexUy 
pendent  not  only  upon  a  number  of  principal  ex-    of  adminis- 
ecutive  officers  such  as  those  named  above,  but  also    o^ces 
upon  a  large  number  of  less  important  administra- 
tive officers.    Governor  Lowden,of  Illinois,  a  few  years  ago  said: 

Administrative  agencies  have  been  multiplied  in  bewildering  confusion. 
They  have  been  created  without  reference  to  their  ability  economically  and 


498  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

effectively  to  administer  the  laws.  Separate  boards  govern  the  peniten- 
tiaries, the  reformatories,  and  the  educational  institutions.  Several  boards 
and  commissions  have  charge  of  matters  affecting  the  agricultural  interests. 
Administration  of  laws  affecting  labor  is  parceled  out  among  numerous 
agencies,  including  several  boards  having  jurisdiction  of  mining  problems 
and  several  free  employment  agencies,  each  independent  of  the  other.  Our 
finance  administration  is  chaotic,  illogical  and  confused. 

The  administration  of  the  health  laws  is  divided  between  boards  and 
commissions,  with  no  effective  means  of  coordination.  Our  educational 
agencies  are  not  harmonious.  Over  one  hundred  officers,  boards,  agencies, 
commissions,  institutions  and  departments  are  charged  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  our  laws.  No  systematic  organization  exists,  and  no  adequate 
control  can  be  exercised.  .  .  .  Under  the  present  system  .  .  .  the  governor 
cannot  exercise  the  supervision  and  control  which  the  people  have  a  right  to 
demand.  (Charles  E.  Woodward,  "The  Illinois  Civil  Administrative  Code," 
reprinted  from  Proceedings,  Academy  of  Political  Science,  July,  1918.) 

This  condition  of  affairs  is  characteristic  of  state  governments 

generally.    Some  of  the  numerous  ofhcers  are  appointed  by  the 

governor,  but  many  of  them  are  elected  by  the 

lacks  power  to  people   or   appointed   by    the   legislature.     Their 

meet  his  re-  terms  of  office  do  not  coincide  with  that  of  the 
sponsibihties 

governor,  so  that  he  finds  m  office  many  persons 

whom  he  did  not  appoint,  and  whom  he  cannot  remove.  Often 
they  may  be  of  an  opposite  political  party.  Thus  the  very 
organization  of  the  state  executive  department  is  such  as  to 
make  it  impossible  for  the  governor  to  perform  the  duty,  imposed 
upon  him  by  the  constitution,  of  seeing  to  it  that  the  laws  are 
faithfully  executed.  It  must  be  remembered,  moreover,  that 
the  execution  of  the  laws  is  also  dependent  largely  upon  a  mul- 
titude of  local  officers  over  whom  the  state  exercises  little  con- 
trol (see  p.  467).  It  is  apparent  how  imperfect  must  be  the 
team  work  of  the  people  through  this  organization. 

Why  have  the  people  put  up  with  this  sort  of  thing?  For  one 
thing,  they  have  not  understood  where  the  trouble  lies.  There 
is  also  seen  the  influence  of  the  political  "boss,"  who  thrives 
under   this   confusion.     But   among   the   causes  is   the   desire 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS 


499 


of  the  people   to  maintain   control  over  government.    They 

have  attempted,  in  their  constitutions,  not  only  to  say  just 

what  services  should  be  performed  for  them,  but 

also  to  specify  just  what  machinery  should  be  efforts  at 

used  for  their  performance.   For  every  new  service,  p^p"!^ 
11  1  1    •     1  1  •         control , 

they  have  created  a  new  and  mdependent  piece 

of  machinery.    Then,  to  make  their  control  complete,  as  they 


State  Capitol  or  Pennsylvania  at  Harrisbueg 


thought,  they  have  made  most  of  their  new  officers  elective. 
Experience  has  shown  that  control  of  this  kind  has  been  gained 
only  at  the  sacrifice  of  efficient  service,  through  failure  to 
provide  trained  leadership  and  effective  organization.  More- 
over, experience  has  also  shown  that  control  of  this  kmd  is 
largely  a  delusion;  for  the  people  cannot  keep  in  touch  with  their 
multitude  of  officers,  and  in  many  cases  yield  their  control, 
often  unknowingly,  to  the  political  "boss." 

In  noting  these  defects,  it  is  not  to  be  concluded  that  our 
state  governments  have  been  a  failure  in  all  respects.  Far 
from  it.    Notable  progress  has  been  made  toward  the  ideals 


500  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

which  we  have  been  striving  to  attain.  We  have  tried  one 
experiment  after  another,  some  of  which  have  been  highly 
Experiment  successful,  but  Others  of  which  have  not  met  the 
necessary  to     test  of  new  conditions.    It  is  important,  however, 

^^^  ^  that   we    should   face   our   failures   squarely   and 

profit  by  them. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  a  marked  effort  to  overcome  the 
defects  that  we  have  just  noted,  and  a  good  deal  of  progress 
Reorganiza-  ^^^  been  made  in  some  states.  One  of  the  most 
tion  of  progressive   states   in   this   particular   is   IlUnois, 

6X6ClltlV6 

which  has  recently  enacted  a  law  for  the  reorgani- 
zation of  its  executive  branch  of  government. 

Under  the  new  "Civil  Administrative  Code"  of  Illinois,  the  executive 
branch  of  government  is  organized  in  nine  departments:  the  departments 
of  finance,  of  agriculture,  of  labor,  of  mines  and  minerals,  of  public  works 
and  buildings,  of  public  welfare,  of  public  health,  of  trade  and  commerce, 
and  of  registration  and  education. 

At  the  head  of  each  department  is  a  director,  who  is  appointed  by  the 
governor,  is  responsible  to  him,  and  whose  term  of  office  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  governor. 

Each  department  is  organized  into  various  bureaus,  or  other  subdivisions, 
with  officers  in  charge  who  are  directly  responsible  to  the  director  of  the 
department.  Thus,  in  the  department  of  agriculture  there  is  an  assistant 
director,  a  general  manager  of  the  state  fair,  a  superintendent  of  foods  and 
dairies,  a  superintendent  of  animal  industry,  a  superintendent  of  plant 
industry,  a  chief  veterinarian,  a  chief  game  and  fish  warden,  and  a  food 
standard  commission  of  three  members. 

All  subordinate  employees  in  all  departments  are  appointed  under  a  civil 
service  law  which  requires  competitive  examinations. 

Associated  with  most  of  the  departments  are  "advisory  boards"  consist- 
ing of  citizens  who  serve  without  pay.  Thus,  the  department  of  agriculture 
has  a  board  of  agricultural  advisors  composed  of  fifteen  persons,  and  a  board 
of  state  fair  advisors  of  nine  persons,  not  more  than  three  of  whom  shall  be 
appointed  from  any  one  county. 

The  things  aimed  at  in  this  reorganization  are:  (i)  fixing  re- 
sponsibility for  the  entire  service  organization  in  one  place — 
with  the  governor;  (2)  responsible,  trained  leadership  in  each 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  501 

department  of  service;  (3)  responsiveness  of  leadership  to  the 
people's  wants,  as  provided  for  by  the  advisory  boards;  (4)  a 
system  of  accounting  and  records  that  will  make  for  efficiency 
and  economy,  and  that  will  inform  the  people  as  well  as  the 
officers  of  government. 
Investigate  and  report  on: 

The  name  of  the  governor  of  your  state,  his  political  party,  when  elected, 
for  how  long  a  term. 

Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  long  term  for  the  governor. 
The  constitutional  powers  of  the  governor  of  your  state. 
The  influence  of  the  governor  of  your  state  with  the  people.     * 
The  principal  executive  and  administrative  officers  of  your  state.   Those 
that  are  elective  and  those  that  are  appointive. 

A  complete  list  of  the  administrative  bureaus,  boards,  commissions,  and 
other  state  agencies,  with  their  duties. 

The   application   of    Governor  Lowden's  statement  regarding  Illinois 
(p.  497)  to  your  state. 

Any  proposed  reorganization   of  the  executive  branch  of  your  state 
government. 

The  legislative  branch  of  government  consists,  in  all  states,  of 
a  legislature  ("general  assembly,"  "legislative  assembly,"  or 
"general  court")  composed  of  two  "houses"  or  The  legisla- 
"  chambers, "  the  house  of  representatives  and  the  *^^®  branch 
senate.  The  senate  is  the  "upper  house,"  and  is  usually  from 
one  third  to  one  half  the  size  of  the  "lower  house";  in  Massa- 
chusetts only  one  sixth  the  size. 

A  bill  to  become  a  law  must  pass  both  houses  separately, 
each  house  acting  as  a  check  upon  the  other,  thus  securing 
greater  deliberation  in  law  making.  The  senate  The  two 
is  supposed  to  be,  and  usually  is,  a  more  conserva-  *i°"ses 
tive,  or  cautious,  body  than  the  house  of  representatives,  partly 
because  of  its  smaller  size  which  makes  possible  a  more  careful 
consideration  of  business.  Its  members  are  elected  from  larger 
districts,  thus  increasing  the  opportunity  to  select  able  men. 
A  higher  age  qualification  is  required  for  membership  in  the 
senate  than  in  the  house  of  representatives;  and  only  a  part  of 


S02 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


the  senate  is  elected  at  each  election,  so  that  it  is  a  continuing 
body,  always  containing  members  of  experience,  while  the  lower 
house  may  be  almost  entirely  changed  at  each  election. 


Hall  of  Representatives,  Pennsylvania  Capitol 


Defects  in 
distribution 
of  repre- 
sentation 


It  is  a  theory  of  our  representative  government  that  repre- 
sentation should  be  proportioned  to  population.  To  secure  this 
result,  each  state  is  divided  into  election  districts 
presumably  of  as  nearly  equal  population  as  pos- 
sible, the  senatorial  districts  being  the  larger.  In 
practice,  however,  these  districts  do  not  always 
have  representation  proportional  to  their  population.  The 
county  is  often  the  unit  of  representation,  or  in  New  England 
the  town,  and  these  districts  vary  greatly  in  population.  An 
attempt  is  made  to  equalize  the  difference  by  providing  that  no 
district  shall  have  less  than  one  representative,  and  often  that 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  503 

none  shall  have  more  than  a  certain  number.  Inequalities 
nevertheless  exist.   In  Connecticut, 

thirty-four  of  the  most  populous  towns  and  cities  have  sixty-eight  members 
in  the  lower  house,  whereas  if  the  distribution  were  made  on  the  basis  of 
population  they  would  be  entitled  to  186  members.  Again,  four  of  the 
smallest  Connecticut  towns,  with  a  total  population  of  1567,  have  five  mem- 
bers; four  of  the  most  populous  cities,  containing  309,982  inhabitants,  have 
only  eight  members,  whereas  on  the  basis  of  population  they  would  be  en- 
titled to  eighty-seven.' 

Partisan  influences  often  enter  into  the  districting  of  states  for 
representation,  the  party  in  power  trying  to  fix  boundaries  in 
such  a  way  as  to  insure  the  continuance  of  their  majority  in  the 
legislature. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following: 

Number  of  members  in  the  lower  and  upper  houses  of  your  legislature. 

Qualifications  for  membership  in  each  house. 

Term  of  office  in  each  house. 

Names  of  your  own  representative  and  senator. 

Whether  representation  in  your  legislature  is  proportional  to  population. 

The  "gerrymander":  what  it  is,  and  whether  it  has  been  used  in  your 
state. 

Secure  a  map  showing  legislative  districts  of  your  state.  Locate  your  own. 

The  legislature  controls  our  lives  at  almost  every  turn. 

It  has  control  over  the  whole  domain  of  civil  law;^  that  is,  it  lays  down 
the  rules  governing  contracts,  real  and  personal  property,  inheritance, 
corporations,  mortgages,  marriage  and  divorce,  and  other  civil  matters. 
It  defines  crime;  that  is,  it  prescribes  those  actions  of  the  citizen  which  are 
to  be  punished  by  fine  or  imprisonment  or  death.  It  touches  the  property 
of  the  citizen  not  only  by  regulating  its  use,  but  also  by  imposing  upon  it  a 
burden  of  taxation.  Finally,  it  has  control  over  the  vast  domain  known  as 
the  police  power,  under  which  it  makes  regulations  concerning  public  health, 
morals,  and  welfare,  devises  rules  for  the  conduct  of  business  and  professions, 
and  in  other  ways  restrains  the  liberty  of  the  citizen  to  do  as  he  pleases.^ 

In  view  of  this  importance,  it  would  seem  that  the  people 
would  have  the  keenest  interest  in  their  state  legislatures  and 

1  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  521. 

2  See  below  p.  511-     '  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  516. 


504  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  greatest  respect  for  them.   This  has  not  always  been  the 

case.    As  one  writer  says,  "it  has  become  almost  fashionable" 

to  speak  slightingly  of  legislatures  and  their  mem- 

the  people        bers,  and  to  talk  of  them  as  if  they  were  wholly 

toward  their  corrupt  and  dishonorable.  If  the  very  best  men  the 
legislatures  .  -.      . 

community  affords  are  not  always  chosen  for  the 

difficult  and  responsible  work  of  law  making,  the  people  have 

no  one  to  blame  but  themselves.    Moreover,  the  members  of 

our  legislatures  average  up  very  much  like  their  neighbors,  and 

most  of  them  are  sincerely  desirous  of  serving  their  state  and  do 

so  to  the  fullest  extent  possible  under  the  conditions  that  exist. 

It  is  indeed  time  that  a  diiJerent  attitude  should  be  assumed  toward  these 
bodies  .  .  .  Acquaintance  with  actual  legislatures  will  immediately  reveal 
the  fact  that  they  are  fairly  representative  of  the  American  people,  and  that 
there  is  in  them  a  great  deal  of  honest  effort  to  grapple  with  the  difl&cult 
problems  of  legislation.  .  .  .  Before  all,  there  ought  to  be  a  sustained  effort 
to  support  the  men  who  are  with  honest  purpose  struggling  for  equitable 
and  effective  legislation.  .  .  .^ 

Most  of  the  unwise  and  harmful  legislation  has  been  due,  not 
to  wrong  intentions  on  the  part  of  legislators,  but  to  the  diffi- 
Difficulties  culty  encountered  by  a  body  of  men  of  average 
of  wise  intelligence  and  of  little  experience  in  deahng  with 

egis  a  ion  p^bUc  questions,  in  getting  information  necessary 
to  enable  them  to  decide  wisely  with  respect  to  the  multitude  of 
complicated  problems  that  come  before  them  during  the  brief 
session  of  the  legislature. 

In  the  lower  house  of  one  typical  legislature  only  19  out  of  the  252  members 
had  ever  been  members  of  a  legislature  before,  123  were  farmers,  6  lawyers,  10 
physicians,  48  merchants  and  manufacturers,  3  bankers,  5  preachers,  6  insur- 
ance men,  2  hotel  proprietors,  3  liverymen,  14  laborers  or  artisans,  6  "appar- 
ently with  no  occupation  except  that  of  general  politician  and  office-seeker. " 

Of  the  thirty  members  of  the  senate  of  the  same  legislature,  9  were  farm- 
ers, 4  lawyers,  4  physicians,  and  13  merchants.  Seven  of  these  had  com- 
pleted their  education  in  "academies,"  while  13  had  never  got  beyond  the 
.pubUc  schools. 

1  Paul  S.  Reinsch,  American  Legislatures  and  Legislative  Methods,  p.  126. 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  505 

These  men  had  to  decide,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  upon  an  astonish- 
ing variety  of  problems,  some  of  them  of  the  greatest  complexity,  and  all 
of  them  affecting  the  lives  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  in  a  multitude  of  ways. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  serious  mistakes  are  sometimes  made.^ 

The  mere  writing  of  a  bill  in  language  that  will  convey  the 
exact  meaning  intended,  and  that  will  not  involve  undesirable 
and  unexpected  results,  is  a  difficult  matter  that  requires  the 
skill  of  men  trained  for  it. 

In  a  number  of  states  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  meet 
these  natural   difficulties   by   the   establishment   of  legislative 
reference  libraries,  or  bureaus,  in  charge  of  highly    Legislative 
trained  students  who  collect  all  available  informa-    reference 
tion  relating  to  every  possible  subject  of  legislation, 
keep  records  of  legislation  in  other  states,  and  place  the  material  in 
convenient  format  the  disposal  of  the  legislators.  Sometimes  they 
provide  expert  service  in  the  writing  of  bills  in  the  proper  form. 
It  is  said  that  such  legislative  reference  bureaus  have  already 
greatly  improved  the  quality  of  legislation  in  some  of  the  states. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  a  legislature,  acting  as  a  body,  to 
give  consideration  to  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  bills  that 
come  before  it. 

It  is  said  that  it  is  not  unusual  for  more  than  2,500  bills  to  be  introduced 
at  a  single  session.  Legislatures  are  in  session  from  40  to  90  days.  If  the 
session  were  60  days,  and  the  working  day  10  hours,  there  would  be  but  15 
minutes  for  each  of  2,500  bills.  This  time  would  be  divided  between  the 
two  houses.  Besides,  a  great  deal  of  business  must  be  transacted  other  than 
the  consideration  and  passage  of  bills. 

To  make  possible  the  handling  of  all  this  work,  each  house 
is  organized  in  standing  committees.    As  bills  are  introduced, 
they  are  referred  to  their  appropriate  committees,    The  commit- 
in  which  most  of  the  work  of  law  making  is  done,    tee  system 
Most  of  the  bills  so  referred  are  never  reported 
back  to  the  legislature  at  all,  and  those  that  are  reported  are 

1  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  525  (from  S.  P.  Orth  "Our 
State  Legislatures,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  vol.  xciv,  pp.  728  fi). 


5o6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

in  most  cases  acted  upon  by  the  legislature  in  accordance 
with  the  committees'  reports,  with  little  general  discussion. 
The  procedure  followed  in  referring  bills  to  committees  and  in 
considering  them  when  they  are  reported  back  is  determined 
by  a  complexity  of  rules  that  are  confusing  to  the  outsider  and 
that  cannot  be  explained  in  detail  here.  But  their  declared 
purpose  is  to  save  time  and  to  enable  the  legislative  business 
to  move  smoothly.  The  small  committees  can  work  to  better 
advantage  than  the  large  body  of  men  in  either  chamber.  The 
work  is  divided  up  so  that  the  few  members  of  each  committee 
can  concentrate  their  attention  upon  a  few  subjects  and  gain 
experience  in  handling  special  kinds  of  problems. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  this  organization  that  we  owe  some 
of  the  bad  law  making  for  which  our  legislatures  are  blamed. 
Invisible  It  tends  to  remove  legislation  from  the  control  of 

government  ^Yie  people,  and  results  in  what,  is  often  called  "in- 
visible government,"  government  that  is  carried  on  out  of  sight 
of  the  people.  It  opens  a  door  to  partisan  influences  and  to 
control  by  political  "bosses"  and  self-seeking  "interests." 
In  the  lower  house  the  committees  are  appointed  by  the  speaker, 
who  is  the  presiding  officer,  and  who  is  always  chosen  by  the 
members  of  the  majority  party  in  the  house  from  their  own 
number.  The  senate  committees  are  sometimes  appointed  by 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  senate,  who  is  often  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  sometimes  elected  by  the  senate  itself.  But  the 
chairmen  and  the  majority  of  the  members  of  all  committees 
in  both  houses  belong  to  the  majority  party,  which  is  thus 
enabled  to  control  legislation  for  partisan  ends  if  it  so  desires, 
and  it  often  does  so. 

Bills  may  be  "killed"  in  committee,  or  reported  unfavorably, 
or  so  amended  as  to  change  their  meaning  entirely,  merely  at 
Evils  of  the  the  will  of  the  party  leaders,  or  of  "bosses"  and 
system  interests  outside  of  the  legislature.    A  large  part 

of  the  work  of  the  committees  is  carried  on  in  secret.  Although 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  507 

"hearings"  may  be  held  at  which  citizens  may  present  argu- 
ments for  and  against  proposed  measures,  these  may  be  mere 
matters  of  form.  Influential  interests  may  maintain  a  lobby  at 
the  legislature,  which  means  that  they  are  represented  there  by 
agents  who  seek  to  influence  the  members  of  the  legislature,  and 
especially  of  the  committees,  sometimes  by  corrupt  methods. 
The  lobby  usually  works  by  secret  methods,  whereas  the  "hear- 
ings" are  public. 

The  party  leaders  in  control,  of  whom  the  most  important 
are  the  speaker  of  the  house,  the  rules  committee,  the  chairmen 
of  committees,  and  the  "floor  manager,"  by  dictating  the 
procedure  to  be  followed,  may  at  times  make  it  practically 
impossible  for  a  member  of  the  minority  party,  or  one  who  has 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  leaders,  to  gain  a  hearing.  The 
following  description  gives  an  idea  of  what  may  happen:^ 

Consider  the  petty  annoyances  to  which  a  decent  member  outside  the 
"organization"  may  be  subjected,  and  the  methods  by  which  legitimate 
legislation,  backed  by  him,  may  be  blocked.  The  bill  goes  to  an  unfriendly 
committee.  The  chairman  refuses  to  call  the  committee  together,  or  when 
forced  to  call  it,  a  quorum  does  not  attend.  .  .  .  Action  may  be  postponed 
on  various  pretexts,  or  the  bill  may  be  referred  to  a  sub-committee.  The 
committee  may  kill  the  bill  by  laying  it  on  the  table.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  committee  may  decide  that  the  bill  be  reported  to  the  house  to  pass. 
Then  a  common  practice  is  for  the  chairman  to  pocket  the  bill,  delaying  to 
report  it  to  the  house  till  too  late  to  pass  it.  When  finally  reported  to  the 
house,  it  goes  on  the  calendar  to  be  read  a  first  time  in  its  order.  Then  begins 
the  advancing  of  bills  by  unanimous  consent,  without  waiting  to  reach  them 
in  order.  Here  is  where  the  organization  has  absolute  control.  Unanimous 
consent  is  subject  to  the  speaker's  acuteness  of  hearing.  His  hearing  is 
sharpened  or  dulled  according  to  the  good  standing  of  the  objector  or  of  the 
member  pushing  the  bill.  If  one  not  friendly  to  the  house  "organization" 
wants  to  have  his  bill  considered  over  an  objection,  he  must  move  to  suspend 
the  rules.  The  speaker  may  refuse  to  recognize  him,  or  may  put  his  motion 
and  declare  it  carried  or  net  carried  as  suits  his  and  the  organization's  desires. 
So  the  pet  bills  are  jumped  over  others  ahead  of  them  on  the  calendar,  while 

iprom  a  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Illinois  Legislative  Voters'  League  in  1903, 
and  quoted  by  C.  A.  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  pp.  539,  540. 


5o8  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

the  ones  not  having  the  backing  of  the  house  "organization"  are  retired 
farther  and  farther  down  until  their  ultimate  passage  becomes  hopeless. 
If  the  bill  of  the  independent  member  reaches  a  second  reading,  it  may  be 
killed  by  striking  out  the  enacting  clause  or  by  tacking  on  an  obnoxious 
amendment  that  makes  it  repulsive  to  its  former  friends.  .  .  .  To  carry 
out  the  will  of  the  organization,  the  speaker  declares  amendments  carried  or 
the  contrary  by  a  viva  voce  vote.  Demands  for  roll-calls  are  ignored  by 
him  in  violation  of  the  members'  constitutional  rights.  .  .  . 

It  is  such  practices  as  these  that  have  brought  state  legisla- 
tures into  bad  repute,  and  that  have  resulted  in  measures  to 
Efforts  to  ^^^^  their  power.  Instead  of  leaving  it  entirely 
curb  power  to  them  to  make  their  own  rules  of  procedure, 
many  of  these  rules  are  now  prescribed  by  the  state 
constitutions.  It  was  in  order  to  restrain  the  legislatures  that 
the  veto  power  has  been  given  to  the  governors,  and  that  ses- 
sions of  legislatures  have  been  limited  to  brief  periods  of  from 
forty  to  ninety  days,  and  then  only  once  in  two  years.  For  the 
same  reason  state  constitutions  have  taken  away  powers  that 
legislatures  once  commonly  abused,  as  in  running  the  state 
deeply  into  debt,  or  in  legislating  in  the  interest  of  particular 
localities  or  particular  groups;  and  have  provided  in  great  detail 
for  many  things  that  were  formerly  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
legislatures.  For  the  same  reason  some  states  have  adopted  the 
initiative  and  referendum  (see  p.  437). 
Investigate  and  report  on: 

Powers  possessed  by  either  house  of  your  legislature  not  possessed 
by  the  other. 

Powers  denied  your  legislature  by  the  federal  Constitution. 
Powers  denied  your  legislature  by  your  state  constitution.   Reasons. 
Attitude  of  the  people  of  your  community  toward  your  legislature. 
Why  service  in  the  legislature  does  not  attract  more  of  the  most  cap- 
able men  of  the  state. 

The  vocations  of  the  members  of  your  legislature. 
Number  of   bills  introduced,   and   the   nimiber   passed,   at   the  last 
session  of  your  legislature. 

The  purpose  of  some  of  the  most  important  laws  enacted  by  your 
legislature  at  its  last  session. 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  509 

Why  it  is  difficult  to  write  a  bill  correctly. 

The  legislative  reference  library,  or  bureau,  of  your  state  (if  any). 

The  committees  in  each  house  of  your  legislature. 

Procedure  by  which  a  bill  becomes  a  law  in  your  state. 

The  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  your  state. 

"Invisible  government"  in  your  state. 

Laws  regulating  the  "lobby"  in  your  state. 

Frequency  and  length  of  legislative  sessions  in  your  state. 

Some  of  the  greatest  abuses  of  governing  power  have  been  in 
connection  with  the  appropriation  of  money.    They  have  been 
due  not  so  much  to  dishonesty  as  to  bad  organi- 
zation and  loose  business  methods,  both  in  the    business 

executive  and  legislative  branches  of  government,    methods  of 

,  1  •  ,         r         1  state  govern- 

When   the   executive   branch  consists  01   a  large    ments 

number  of  more  or  less  independent  parts,  as  de- 
scribed on  pages  497,  498,  each  trying  to  make  the  best  show- 
ing possible,  it  is  quite  to  be  expected  that  each  will  seek 
to  get  from  the  pubhc  treasury  all  the  money  possible  with- 
out reference  to  the  needs  of  other  parts  or  to  the  resources 
of  the  state.  When,  in  addition,  there  is  no  central  executive 
authority  with  power  to  hold  the  heads  of  the  various  parts 
responsible  for  their  acts,  and  no  uniform  or  business-like 
system  of  keeping  accounts,  either  of  money  expended  or  of 
work  accomplished,  it  is  easy  to  see  the  opportunity  for  waste- 
fulness and  inefficiency. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  methods  of  making  appropriations  in 
the  legislature  have  been  equally  conducive  to  wastefulness. 
Appropriation  bills  pass  through  the  same  legisla-    ^^g^^f^j 
tive  machinery  as  all  other  bills  and  are  subject  to    methods  of 
the  same  dangers.   Moreover,  they  are  handled  by    ^opri^tions 
different  committees  that  act  as  independently  of 
one  another  as  do  the  various  executive  departments.  In  Illinois, 
for  example,  until  recently  "requests  for  appropriations  were 
submitted  informally  by  each  office,  department,  or  board;  and 
separate  bills  were  prepared  by  the  several  departments  and  in- 


5IO  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

stitutions,  and  introduced  by  individual  members  of  the  General 
Assembly,"^  then  being  referred  to  different  committees  accord- 
ing to  the  subjects  to  which  they  related.  At  the  session  of  1913, 
94  separate  appropriation  acts  were  passed. 

A  number  of  the  states  have  sought  to  remedy  this  defect  in 
government  by  the  adoption  of  a  budget  system  (see  Chapter 
The  budget  XVII,  pp.  309,  310).  Illinois  has  perhaps  made 
system  ^^le  most  complete  reform  in  this  matter.  We  have 

already  seen  how  that  state  has  reorganized  its  executive  branch 
of  government  (p.  500),  which  is  the  first  necessary  step.  In 
this  reorganization  there  was  created  a  finance  department, 
to  which  all  the  administrative  departments  submit  a  careful 
estimate  of  the  money  needed  for  their  various  lines  of  work, 
together  with  a  detailed  statement  of  work  done  and  money 
spent  during  the  two  preceding  years.  The  finance  department 
considers  all  these  statements  and  estimates  in  their  relation  to 
one  another  and  to  the  financial  resources  available  for  the 
next  two  years,  and  submits  to  the  governor  a  comprehensive 
and  detailed  budget.  On  the  basis  of  this,  a  single  appropria- 
tion bill  is  prepared  by  a  single  committee  of  the  legislature. 
Public  hearings  are  held,  the  people  are  given  opportunity  to 
know  just  what  the  government  has  done  and  intends  to  do,  and 
the  governor  and  his  finance  department  may  be  held  responsible. 

No  single  change  would  add  so  largely  to  both  democracy  and  efficiency 
as  the  introduction  of  proper  budget  methods.^ 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Method  of  making  appropriations  in  your  state. 

Movement  for  a  budget  system  in  your  state. 

Why  a  budget  system  tends  toward  (i)  economy,  (2)  efficiency, 
(3)  democracy. 

*  John  A.  Fairlie,  Budget  Methods  in  Illinois,  quoted  by  W.  F.  Willoughby,  in 
The  Movement  Jor  Budgetary  Reform  in  the  States,  p.  45. 

^  Foreword  to  Public  Budgets,  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  November,  igis;  quoted  by  W.  F.  Willoughby,  The  Movement  Jor 
Budgetary  Reform  in  the  States,  p.  2. 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  511 

Questions  are  continually  arising  as  to  the  meaning  of  laws, 
or  as  to  how  they  apply  in  particular  cases.  To  answer  these 
questions  the  judicial  branch  of  government  exists,  The  judicial 
comprising  a  system  of  courts.  The  courts  are  branch 
sometimes  called  upon  to  decide  whether  a  law  passed  by  the 
legislature,  or  an  act  of  an  administrative  officer,  is  in  harmony 
with  the  constitution,  and  if  not,  to  declare  such  law  or  act 
invalid.  The  judicial  branch  of  government  is  therefore  the 
people's  organization  to  keep  the  other  branches  of  government 
within  their  constitutional  powers. 

In  most  cases  that  come  before  the  courts,  however,  the  law 
is  perfectly  clear  when  once  the  facts  in  the  case  are  known. 
It  is  therefore  the  business  of  the  courts  also  to  q^^^  and 
ascertain  the  facts.  There  are  two  classes  of  cases  criminal 
that  come  before  the  courts,  civil  cases  and  criminal 
cases;  and  the  law  that  applies  to  the  two  classes  is  known  as 
civil  law  and  criminal  law.  A  civil  case  is  one  that  involves 
a  dispute  between  individuals,  or  an  injury  done  by  one  indi- 
vidual to  another.  Such  would  be  a  dispute  over  a  boundary 
line  between  the  properties  of  two  individuals,  or  over  the  pay- 
ment of  a  debt;  or  a  personal  injury  due  to  the  carelessness  of 
some  one,  or  an  injury  to  property  or  to  health  through  main- 
taining a  nuisance  of  some  kind.  In  such  cases  the  court, 
after  ascertaining  the  facts,  merely  sees  that  justice  is  done,  as 
by  the  payment  of  damages  to  the  injured  party  by  the  one  doing 
the  injury.  A  criminal  case  is  one  in  which  a  person  is  charged 
with  having  violated  a  law  of  tke  community.  The  injury  is 
one  against  the  community  as  a  whole,  and  not  merely  against 
an  individual.  It  is  the  community  that  appears  in  court  against 
the  accused  person,  and  not  merely  one  of  his  neighbors.  In 
such  cases  the  court  first  ascertains  the  guilt  or  innocence  of 
the  accused  person;  and  if  he  is  guilty,  imposes  a  punishment 
upon  him,  such  as  a  fine,  or  imprisonment,  or  even  death,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  crime, 


512 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  judicial  branch  of  government,  then,  is  that  part  of  the 
governmental  organization  that  seeks  to  adjust,  by  peaceful  and 
just  means,  the  inevitable  conflicts  that  arise  in  community  life. 


A  Criminal  Trial  in  Progress 

The  lowest  in  the  series  of  state  courts  are  the  justices'  courts, 
of  which  there  is  at  least  one  in  every  township.  They  are 
Justices'  presided  over  by  justices  of  the  peace.   Only  cases 

courts  q£    small    moment    come    before    justices'  courts: 

civil  cases  involving  very  small  amounts,  and  cases  of  minor 
infractions  of  the  law  punishable  by  small  fines  or  by  short 
terms  in  jail.  Persons  accused  of  more  serious  crimes  may  have 
a  preliminary  examination  in  a  justice's  court  and,  if  the  evi- 
dence warrants  it,  be  committed  to  jail  to  await  the  action  of 
the  grand  jury  (see  below).  Most  cases  in  a  justice's  court 
are  disposed  of  by  the  justice  of  the  peace  alone;  but  a  jury 
trial  may  be  demanded  in  all  criminal  cases,  and  in  civil  suits 
"where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars" 
(Const.,  Amendments  VI,  VII). 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  513 

More  serious  cases,  civil  or  criminal,  are  tried  in  the  county, 

or  district,  courts  before  a  judge  and  a  jiiry.    Cases  that  have 

been  tried  in  a  justice's  court  may  be  appealed  to  ^ 

.       .  .  County  courts 

the  county  or  district  court,  where  there  is  sure  to 

be  a  jury  trial,  and  where  the  judge  is  more  learned  in  the  law 
than  is  a  justice  of  the  peace.  It  is  the  business  of  the  jury  to 
decide  on  the  facts  in  the  case  on  the  evidence  furnished  in  the 
trial,  and  in  civil  cases  to  award  the  amount  of  damages,  if  any, 
to  be  paid;  while  the  judge  sees  that  the  procedure  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law,  instructs  the  jury  as  to  the  law  in  the  case, 
and  in  criminal  cases  fixes  the  penalty  within  the  limits  permitted 
by  the  law. 

It  was  stated  above  that  in  criminal  cases  it  is  the  community 
that  appears  against   the  accused.    The  community  appears 
in  the  person  of  the  district  attorney,  otherwise    ^^^  ^q^_ 
called  the  prosecuting  attorney,  state's  attorney,    munity  in 
or  county  solicitor.   It  is  the  business  of  this  officer 
to  gather  evidence  of  crimes  committed  in  the  community  and, 
in  most  cases,  to  submit  it  to  the  grand  jury,  which  is  a  body  of 
citizens   carefully  chosen   to   consider   such   evidence.    If   the 
grand  jury  considers'  the  evidence  against  the  accused  sufficient 
to  warrant  bringing  him  to  trial,  it  brings  in  an  indictment 
against  him.    The  prosecuting  attorney  then  prosecutes  the 
case  for  the  community  against  the  accused.    It  is  of  course 
his  duty  to  secure  exact  justice;  sometimes,  however,  he  seems 
interested  only  in  securing  the  conviction  of  the  accused. 

Our  state  and  national  constitutions  seek  to  protect  carefully 
the  rights  of  a  person  accused  of  crime.  He  is  assumed  to  be 
innocent  until  he  has  been  proved  otherwise.  He  Rights  of 
is  guaranteed  a  "speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  the  accused 
impartial  jury. "  He  must  be  "  confronted  with  witnesses  against 
him,"  and  have  "compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses 
in  his  favor,"  and  "assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense" 
(Const.,  Amendment  VI).     He  cannot  be  compelled  to  be  a 


514  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  "due  process  of  law"  (Amendment  V).  "Exces- 
sive bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted"  (Amendment  VIII). 

In  some  states  there  is  another  set  of  courts  immediately 
above  the  county  courts,  known  as  circidt,  district,  or  superior, 
Circuit  or  courts.  The  districts  in  which  these  courts  have 
superior  jurisdiction  include   several  counties.    The   cases 

handled  by  them  are  either  cases  of  appeal  from 
the  lower  courts,  or  cases  of  greater  importance  than  those  over 
which  the  lower  courts  have  jurisdiction. 

The  highest  court  in  the  state  is  the  supreme  court,  sometimes 
called  the  court  of  appeals,  or  the  court  of  errors.  In  the  supreme 
The  state  court  several  judges  sit  together,  and  there  is  no 
supreme  jury.    The  cases  that  come  before  it  are  for  the 

most  part  cases  of  appeal  from  the  lower  courts, 
although  there  are  certain  classes  of  cases  that  come  before  it 
in  the  first  instance.  The  supreme  court  is  the  final  judge  as 
to  whether  acts  of  the  legislature  are  in  conformity  with  the 
state  constitution. 

In  addition  to  the  courts  named  above  there  are  sometimes 

others  to  deal  with  special  classes  of  cases.    In  cities  there  are 

municipal  courts  and  police  courts,  both  in  the  same 
Other  courts  .  ,       .        .        ,  ,  •  •, 

class    with    justices     courts.     There    are  juvenile 

courts  to  deal  with  juvenile  offenders;  probate,  or  surrogate, 

courts  to  settle  the  estates  of  persons  who  have  died;  courts 

of  claims  to  settle  claims  against  the  state;  and  chancery  courts, 

or  courts  of  equity,  which  administer  justice  in  cases  that  the 

ordinary  law  will  not  reach. 

For  example,  the  law  will  permit  a  man's  property  to  be  taken  to  satisfy 
a  mortgage;  equity  requires  that  the  property  be  sold  and  the  surplus  over 
the  amount  of  the  mortgage  returned  to  the  owner.  The  law  will  grant 
damages  for  any  injury  inflicted;  equity  will,  by  an  injunction,  forbid  a 
repetition  of  the  injury. 


OUR  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  515 

The  judges  of  the  state  courts  were  originally  appointed  by 
the  governors,  or  by  the  legislatures,  ,  With  the  movement 
toward  more  democratic  forms  of  government,  the  Selection  of 
states  began  to  introduce  provisions  in  their  consti-  Judges 
tutions  for  the  election  of  judges  by  the  people,  and  they  are 
now  so  chosen  in  most  states,  though  in  a  number  they  are 
appointed  by  the  governor,  and  in  a  few  by  the  legislature.  It 
is  highly  important  that  judges  should  be  controlled  in  their 
decisions  solely  by  the  desire  to  render  justice,  and  that  they 
should  be  removed  as  far  as  possible  from  partisan  influences. 
Popular  election  of  judges  is  most  prevalent  because  it  seems  to 
give  to  the  people  the  most  direct  control  over  their  courts. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  opposed  by  many  because  it  makes 
possible  the  election'  of  incompetent  judges,  and  because  it 
does  not  necessarily  remove  the  matter  from  partisan  influences. 
In  three  states  (California,  Oregon  and  Arizona)  the  judges 
are  subject  to  recall  by  the  people  (see  p.  447). 

The  terms  during  which  judges  hold  ofiSce  also  vary  greatly 
among  the  states.  In  three  states  they  hold  office  for  life 
(Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire).  In  the 
other  states  their  terms  vary  from  two  to  twenty-one  years. 

It  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  most  students  that  the  state 
courts  would  be  improved  if  their  judges  were  appointed  by  the 
chief  executive  and  should  hold  office  for  life,  or  during  good 
behavior,  as  is  the  case  in  the  federal  courts. 

Investigate  and  report  on : 

Civil  law  and  criminal  law. 

What  makes  an  act  a  "crime." 

Difference  between  a  "crime"  and  a  "misdemeanor." 

Justices'  courts  in  your  community. 

Procedure  in  a  justice's  court. 

The  organization  of  your  county  court. 

Who  is  your  county  (or  district)  judge. 

Procedure  in  your  county  court,  and  how  it  differs  from  that  in  the 
justice's  court. 


5i6  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Organization  and  work  of  the  grand  jury. 
How  a  trial  jury  is  selected. 
The  citizen's  duty  to  serve  on  the  jury. 
Rights  of  an  accused  person. 

Meaning  of  "bail,"   "indictment,"  "due  process  of  law,"  "counsel 
for  defense,"  "subpoena,"  "true  bill." 

Circumstances  under  which  an  appeal  may  be  made. 
The  supreme  court  of  your  state. 
The  work  of  a  juvenile  court. 

READINGS 

State  Constitution. 

Reports  of  the  several  departments  of  the  state  government. 

In  Lessons  in  Communily  and  National  Life: 

Series  B:  Lesson  i8,  How  state  laws  are  made  and  enforced. 
The  Civil  Administrative  Code  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  compiled  by  Louis  L.  Emmer- 

son.   Secretary  of  State,  Springfield,  111. 
The  Illinois  Civil  Administrative  Code,  by  Charles  E.  Woodward,  The  Academy 

of  Political  Science,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 
Beard,  Chas.  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics,  Part  iii.  State  government. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  iii,  State  governments  in  action. 
Reed,  T.  H.,  Form  and  Functions  of  American  Government,  Part  iii,  State  govern- 
ment. 
Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  i.  Part  ii,  The  State  governments. 
In  Long's  American  Patriotic  Prose: 

Invisible  government  (Elihu  Root),  pp.  261-264. 
In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

How  to  Preserve  the  Local  Self-Government  of  the  States  (Elihu  Root)  pp.  48—55. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

It  was  the  necessity  for  team  work  in  carrying  on  the  War 
for  Independence  that  led  the  thirteen  American  colonies  for 
the  first  time  to  unite  under  a  common  govern-  ^j^^  Rgyoju. 
ment.  They  had  revolted  to  escape  from  an  auto-  tionary 
cratic  government,  and  they  sought  to  avoid  set-  o^ernment 
ting  up  another  in  its  place.  Since  it  had  been  the  king  whom 
they  distrusted  most,  they  endeavored  to  get  along  without 
any  executive  head  at  all.  Their  new  govermnent  consisted 
solely  of  a  Congress  of  delegates  from  the  thirteen  states. 

This  form  of  government  was  continued  for  several  years 
after  the  Revolution  under  a  constitution  known  as  the  Articles 
of  Confederation.    It  was,  however,  unsuccessful 
in  securing  anything  like  real  national  cooperation,    period"***^ 
The  Congress  had  no  power  to  levy  and  collect 
taxes,  it  had  little  power  to  make  laws,  and  it  was  without 
means  to  execute  the  laws  that  it  did  make.   The  real  govern- 
ing power  during  this  period  was  with  the  several  states.   The 
result  was  a  period  of  unutterable  confusion  which  has  been 
called  "  the  critical  period  of  American  history. "   The  question 
at  stake  was  whether  a  number  of  self-governing  state  communi- 
ties with  a  multitude  of  apparently  conflicting  interests  could 
really  become  a  nation. 

During  the  war  Benjamin  Franklin  had  said,  "We  must  all 
hang  together  or  we  shall  all  hang  separately."     The  states 
had  "hung  together"  sufficiently  to  win  the  war;    The  new 
but  the  wise  men  of  the  time  now  saw  the  need  for    Constitution 
a  government  so  organized  and  with  such  powers  as  to  secure 

517 


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OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  519 

effective  cooperation  among  all  the  states  and  all  the  people 
at  all  times  for  the  welfare  of  the  entire  Union,  while  leaving 
each  state  free  to  manage  its  own  local  affairs.  Therefore 
a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  states  was  called  together 
at  Philadelphia  in  1787  to  revise  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 
The  result  was  our  present  Constitution  under  which  our  present 
national  government  went  into  effect  in  1789. 

Investigate  and  report: 

The  nature  and  causes  of  the  confusion  during  "the  critical  period" 
of  American  history. 

The  leading  men  of  the  Constitutional  Convention. 

How  the  states  ratified  the  Constitution. 

Which  of  the  original  thirteen  states  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution 
until  after  it  had  gone  into  effect. 

The  number  of  states  required  to  ratify  before  the  Constitution 
went  into  effect  (Const.,  Art.  VII). 

"We,  the  people  of  the  United  States"  "ordained  and  estab- 
lished"   the   Constitution    (see    the   Preamble).     It   was   also 
"ordained"  in  the  Constitution  (Art.  V)  that  it 
could  be  amended  only  by  methods  designed  to  give    troi  through 

to  the  people  control  over  the  matter  —  greater    ^^^  ^°^' 
1111  T  ,  ,  .  stitution 

control  than  they  have  over  ordmary  law  makmg. 

A  great  many  amendments  have  been  proposed  in  the  course  of 

time,  but  only  nineteen  have  so  far  been  adopted,  ten  of  these 

having  been  adopted  in  the  very  beginning  as  a  condition  on 

which  the  states  would  accept  the  Constitution  at  all.    None 

of  these  amendments  changed   the  form  of  our  government 

except  with  respect  to  the  methods  of  electing  the  President 

and  United  States   senators    (Amendments  XII  and   XVII). 

Explain  the  two  methods  of  proposing,  and  the  two  methods  of  ratifying, 
amendments  (Const.,  Art.  VII). 

Has  there  ever  been  a  national  constitutional  convention  called  by  the 
states? 

Could  the  suffrage  have  been  acquired  by  women  by  any  other  method 
than  by  amending  the  federal  Constitution? 


520  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Which  of  the  two  methods  of  ratifying  was  used  in  the  case  of  the  last 
amendment  adopted?  • 

Did  your  state  vote  to  ratify  or  to  reject  the  last  amendment? 

The  Constitution  adopted  in  1787  has  met  the  needs  of  our 
growing  nation  in  a  most  remarkable  way.    It  would  be  a  mis- 
take, however,  to  think  that  it  has  always  met  new 
Our  govern-  '  '  •' 

ment  a  grow-  conditions  perfectly,  or  that  we  are  governed  to-day 
mg  thing  exactly  as  was  intended  by  the  framers  of  the  Con- 

stitution. Although  few  amendments  have  been  made,  inter- 
pretations have  been  placed  on  the  Constitution  that  were  prob- 
ably un thought  of  by  the  framers  or  by  the  people  who  ratified 
it;  and  practices  have  grown  up  in  our  government  that  have 
made  it  quite  a  different  government  from  that  which  was 
anticipated.  Our  government  is  a  growing  thing,  and  one  of 
the  chief  merits  of  our  Constitution  is  the  fact  that  it  speaks 
in  such  general  terms  that  it  has  been  possible,  under  it,  to  adapt 
our  government  to  new  and  unexpected  conditions.  In  this 
respect  it  differs  from  the  detailed  state  constitutions  (p.  494). 
On  the  other  hand,  conditions  have  arisen  with  the  growth  of 
our  nation  that  our  Constitution  has  not  enabled  us  to  meet 
Defects  with  the  greatest  success,  and  that  we  have  not 

inevitable  yg^  j^qi  by  amendment.  In  some  cases  we  have 
tried  to  get  around  the  difficulties  by  devices  not  provided  for 
in  the  Constitution,  sometimes  with  unfortunate  results.  But 
a  recognition  of  defects  in  our  government  should  not  cause  us 
to  lose  respect  for  the  Constitution.  They  are  due  not  to  posi- 
tive blunders  on  the  part  of  the  framers,  but  to  the  mere  absence 
of  provision  for  conditions  that  did  not  exist  when  the  Constitu- 
tion was  framed  and  that  could  not  be  foreseen  by  the  wisest 
men  of  that  time.  The  wise  course  for  all  good  citizens  is 
to  seek  to  understand  clearly  wherein  our  government  fails  to 

'  Ohio  by  a  referendum  (see  p.  437)  in  1919  submitted  the  eighteenth  amendment 
to  the  people  of  the  state  for  their  vote,  after  it  had  been  ratified  by  the  legislature. 
This  was  the  first  time  in  our  history  that  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was 
submitted  to  popular  vote  for  ratification. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  521 

meet  our  needs,  if  it  does  fail,  and  then  to  seek  to  correct  the 
difficulty,  under  the  existing  terms  of  the  Constitution  if  possible, 
or  by  amendment  of  the  Constitution  if  that  becomes  clearly 
necessary.  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  was  purposely 
made  difficult,  and  this  was  doubtless  wise,  for  it  tends  to  pre- 
vent changes  without  full  consideration  of  their  need  and  prob- 
able effects. 

Radical  changes  in  our  form  of  government  and  in  our  established  laws 
are  always  fraught  with  danger.  Because  of  the  extreme  complexity  of 
community  life  a  change  effected  at  one  point  to  meet  a  particular  evil  may 
have  consequences  of  the  most  far-reaching  kind  and  in  the  most  unexpected 
directions.  A  change  that  corrects  one  evil  may  produce  conditions  resulting 
in  evils  even  worse  than  the  first.  Changes  are  necessary  at  times,  but  they 
should  be  made  only  after  the  most  careful  consideration  by  men  of  the 
widest  possible  experience. 

One  thing  that  stood  out  clearly  after  the  Revolution  was 
the  fear  of  a  strong  national  government.  Some  of  the  states 
refused  to  ratify  the  Constitution  unless  amend-  The  bill  of 
ments  were  added  at  once  guaranteeing  the  liber-  "s^ts 
ties  of  the  people.  The  first  ten  amendments,  known  as  the 
"bill  of  rights,"  were  the  result.  To  make  sure  that  no  impor- 
tant rights  were  left  unguarded,  the  ninth  amendment  provides 
that  "the  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights 
shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by 
the  people. " 

Read  the  first  ten  amendments  and  discuss  the  meaning  of  each. 

It  was  clearly  expected  that  most  of  the  governing  powers  to 
which  the  people  were  subject  should  be  exercised  by  the  states, 
and  not  by  the  national  government.  The  na-  ^  govem- 
tional  government  was  to  exercise  no  powers  except  ment  of  dele- 
such  as  were  delegated  to  it  in  the  Constitution.  ^^  ^  powers 
These  powers  are  important  ones,  but  few  in  number,  and  are 
listed  in  section  8  of  Article  I.  In  order  to  make  this  limitation 
of  powers  perfectly  clear,  the  tenth  amendment  declares  that 


522 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


"The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Consti- 
tution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the 
states  respectively  or  to  the  people. "  Certain  powers  were  also 
expressly  denied  to  the  national  government  in  section  9  of 
Article  I. 


©  Klinedinst 


Inauguration  of  President  Harding 


Discuss  the  meaning  of  each  clause  in  Article  I,  section  8. 
Discuss  the  meaning  of  each  clause  in  Article  I,  section  9. 

The  powers  of  the  national  government  relate  to  interstate 
and  foreign  affairs,  or  to  matters  that  the  several  states  could 
The  scope  of  ^"^^  ^^^^  regulate  without  confusion  or  injustice, 
national  For  example,  it  was  chiefly  the  confusion  in  matters 

powers  pertaining  to  trade  in  the  period  following  the  Revo- 

lution that  made  the  new  government  necessary.    Therefore 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  523 

power  was  given  to  it  "to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  na- 
tions and  among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes." 
So,  also,  it  was  given  power  "to  coin  money,  regulate  the  value 
thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights 
and  measures,"  for  varying  systems  of  coinage  and  of  weights 
and  measures  would  be  inconvenient.  For  similar  reasons  it 
was  empowered  "to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads," 
"to  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization"  for  immigrants, 
and  "to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts"  by 
giving  copyrights  and  patents  to  authors  and  inventors.  The 
states,  on  the  other  hand,  were  expressly  forbidden  to  exercise 
any  control  over  some  such  matters  of  national  and  international 
concern  in  section  10  of  Article  I. 

Read  section  10,  Article  I,  and  discuss  the  reasons  why  the  powers  there 
mentioned  should  have  been  denied  to  the  states. 

Not  only  did  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  carefully  limit 
the  powers  that  the  national  government  might  exercise,  but 
they  also  introduced  into  the  organization  of  the  ^j^^  system  of 
government  various  devices  to  control  it  and  to  checks  and 
prevent  any  of  its  parts  from  assuming  too  much 
power.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the  system  of  checks 
and  balances.  In  our  national  government,  as  in  the  state 
governments  (see  p.  494),-  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi- 
cial powers  are  separated.  In  early  times  in  England,  the  king 
could  make  any  laws  he  wished,  he  could  enforce  them  as 
he  pleased,  and  he  controlled  the  courts  of  justice.  In  our 
government  the  legislature,  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
people,  makes  the  laws;  the  executive  branch  of  government 
sees  to  their  enforcement;  and  the  courts,  which  are  responsible 
neither  to  the  legislature  nor  to  the  executive,  interpret  the  law 
and  administer  justice  in  accordance  with  the  laws.  This  sepa- 
ration of  powers  is  to  prevent  any  one  person  or  group  of  persons 
from  exercising  too  much  power,  as  the  king  did,  and  is  a  safe- 
guard to  the  liberty  of  the  people.  But  the  separation  of  powers 


524  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

is  not  complete.  Each  branch  of  government  has  a  limited  control 
over  the  others.  This  constitutes  the  system  of  checks  and  bal- 
ances, which  still  further  protects  the  people's  liberties. 

While  the  President  can  not  make  the  laws,  he  is  given  a  check  upon  the 
law-making  power  of  Congress  by  his  veto  power.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
can  not,  by  an  excessive  use  of  his  veto  power,  destroy  the  law-making  power 
of  Congress,  because  Congress  may  pass, laws  over  the  President's  veto  by 
means  of  a  two-thirds  vote. 

The  President  can  not  make  a  treaty,  nor  appoint  men  to  office,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Senate;  neither  can  he  exercise  his  executive  powers 
until  Congress  votes  him  the  necessary  money. 

If  Congress  passes  a  law  that  is  contrary  to  the  Constitution  the  courts 
may  declare  the  law  void,  and  the  executive  can  not  enforce  it.  The  courts, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  in  a  measure  under  the  control  of  both  Congress  and 
the  President,  for  Congress  may  create  and  destroy  courts  (except  those 
created  by  the  Constitution),  and  the  President,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Senate,  appoints  the  judges. 

The  "checks  and  balances"  in  the  organization  of  our  govern- 
ment have  been  very  effective  in  accomplishing  the  purpose 
for  which  they  were  intended,  namely,  to  protect 
and  disad"  ^^^  liberties  of  the  people  against  despotic  govern- 
vantages  of  ment.  But  they  have  also,  at  times,  been  an 
balances^  obstacle  to  team  work  and  to  effective  service.  It 
sometimes  happens,  for  example,  that  the  Presi- 
dent represents  one  political  party,  while  the  majority  of  one 
or  both  houses  of  Congress  are  of  the  opposing  party.  The 
two  branches  of  government  may  then  enter  into  a  struggle 
on  partisan  grounds,  each  trying  to  defeat  the  program  of  the 
other.  Such  a  situation  was  probably  unforeseen  by  the  fram- 
ers  of  the  Constitution,  although  it  again  reminds  us  of  Wash- 
ington's warning  with  regard  to  the  dangers  of  the  party  spirit 
(p.  441). 

With  the  growth  of  our  nation,  the  national  government  has 
come  to  perform  a  vast  amount  of  service,  as  we  have  seen  in 
earHer  chapters,  and  to  regulate  the  lives  of  the  people  in  a 
multitude  of  ways  little  dreamed  of  by,  the  makers  of  the  Con- 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  525 

stitution.     This  has  been  possible  because  of  the  principle  of 

implied  powers  in  the  Constitution.      This  means  that  some  of 

the  powers  expressly  granted  in  the  Constitution    ^ 

,  ,  „      .  ,         •        ,  The  implied 

have  been  broadly  mterpreted  to  imply  powers  not    powers  of 

expressly  stated.    There  are  certain  clauses  in  the    ^^^  national 
•    11       1       1      1  government 

Constitution    that   especially   lend  themselves  to 

such  broad  interpretation.  For  example,  after  the  enumeration 
of  the  powers  which  Congress  may  exercise,  in  section  8  of 
Article  I,  clause  18  of  that  section  gives  Congress  power  "to 
make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  foregoing  powers  ..."  Another  clause 
whose  liberal  interpretation  has  been  responsible  for  much  of 
the  service  performed  by  the  national  government  is  that  giv- 
ing it  the  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  (Art.  I,  sec.  8, 
cl.  3). 

In  the  early  days  of  our  government  the  Federalist  party,  under  the 
leadership  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  proposed  the  creation  of  a  national  hank. 
The  Republican  party  under  Jefferson  opposed  this  because  the  Constitution 
did  not  expressly  provide  for  it,  and  because  it  was  feared  that  it  would  give 
the  national  government  too  much  power.  But  the  "broad  construction- 
ists" argued  that  a  national  bank  was  a  "necessary  and  proper"  means 
to  enable  the  national  government  "to  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the 
United  States"  and  to  exercise  other  financial  powers  expressly  granted  in 
the  Constitution.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  supported  the 
latter  view,  and  the  national  bank  became  a  fact. 

The  building  of  roads  and  other  internal  improvements  by  the  national 
government  have  always  been  opposed  by  the,  "strict  constructionists," 
except  where  roads  were  clearly  "post-roads"  (Art.  I,  sec.  8,  cl.  7).  But  the 
"broad  constructionists"  argued  that  roads  were  "necessary  and  proper" 
to  provide  "for  the  common  defense,"  and  also  as  a  means  "to  regulate 
commerce  among  the  several  states." 

Most  of  the  work  that  the  national  government  has  done  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  public  health,  such  as  the  passage  and  enforcement  of  the  "pure 
food  and  drugs  act, "  the  inspection  of  livestock  and  of  slaughter-houses, 
and  the  attempt  to  regulate  child  labor,  has  been  done  under  the  authority 
of  the  clause  which  gives  to  Congress  the  power  to  regulate  interstate 
commerce. 


526  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

It  has  been  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 

to  decide  finally  whether  much  of  the  new  service  undertaken 

by  the  national  government  is  in  accordance  with 
Expansion  of  .        .  ,     ,  ■  i         , 

powers  by        the  Constitution  or  not,  and  this  court  has  been 

judicial  responsible  for  most  of  the  expansion  of  the  ser- 

decision  .  ,         ,    1  r  •       i-i         1   • 

Vice  rendered,  because  of  its  hberal  interpretation 

of  the  Constitution. 

Why  should  the  power  to  regulate  interstate  commerce  also  give  Con- 
gress the  power  to  require  the  inspection  of  cattle  in  your  neighborhood? 
or  to  forbid  the  use  of  harmful  substances  in  patent  medicines?  or  to  forbid 
the  employment  of  children  in  factories? 

Find  out  what  you  can  about  the  influence  of  John  Marshall,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  extending  the  powers  of  the  national 
government. 

The  Constitution  vests  the  executive  power  in  the  President 
of  the  United  States  (Art.  II,  sec.  i),  and  he  alone  is  responsible 
The  executive  ^*^  ^^^  people  for  the  execution  of  the  laws.  The 
centralized  people  are  protected  against  abuse  of.  this  power  in 
an  contro  e  ^^j^^  hands  of  one  man  by  various  constitutional 
provisions.  The  President's  term  of  office  is  limited  to  four 
years,  though  he  may  be  reelected.  In  case  of  improper  conduct 
in  office,  he  may  be  removed  by  impeachment.  The  impeach- 
ment charges  must  be  brought  against  him  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  Senate,  presided  over  by  the  Chief 
Justice  of-  the  Supreme  Court,  must  act  as  a  court  to  try  the 
case.  Moreover,  even  the  President  must  act  according  to  law, 
and  insofar  as  his  duties  are  not  prescribed  by  the  Constitution 
they  are  prescribed  by  Congress.  Congress  must  also  create 
the  machinery  by  which  the  President  executes  the  laws,  and  it 
must  appropriate  the  necessary  money.  The  Senate  exercises 
a  further  control  over  the  President  in  that  it  must  approve  all 
appointments  and  all  treaties  made  by  him. 

The  method  of  electing  the  President  provided  in  the  Con- 
stitution was  intended  to  insure  a  wise  choice,  and  also  shows 
a  lack  of  complete  confidence  in  the  people  on  the  part  of  the 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  527 

framers  of  the  Constitution.  He  was  to  be  elected  by  a  body  of 
electors,   chosen    by   the   several   states   "in   such   manner   as 
the  legislatures  thereof  may  direct, "  the  number    Method  f 
of  electors  from  each  state  to  equal  the  whole  num-    electing  the 
ber  of  senators  and  representatives  from  that  state      ^^^^  ^^^ 
(Art.  II,  sec.  2).   These  electors  were  originally  chosen  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  states,  but  are  now  elected  by  the  people. 
When  voters  "vote  for  the  President"  every  four  years,  they 
in  reality  only  vote  for  these  electors  who.  in  turn,  cast  their 
votes  for  the  President. 

In  the  method  of  electing  the  President  we  find  one  of  the 
points  where  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
has  clearly  been  thwarted.    It  was  obviously  the 
intention  that  the  electors  chosen  by  the  states    from  th"''^  - 
should  use  their  own  discretion  in  the  choice  of  the    tention  of 
President.   But  in  practice  to-day,  the  entire  body    Jutlon"'^^*^" 
of  electors  from  each  state  always  represents  the 
victorious  pohtical  party,  and  casts  its  vote  invariably  for  the 
presidential  candidate  already  nominated  by  the  party  ma- 
chinery (see  p.  446).  We  still  elect  the  electors,  and  the  electors 
go  through  the  form  of  electing  the  President;  but  their  part 
in  the  procedure  is  now  entirely  useless. 

The  Vice-President  is  elected  at  the  same  time  and  by  the 
same  method  as  the  President.   But  he  has  no  executive  duties 
whatever  so  long  as  the  President  is  capable  of    The  Vice- 
performing  his  duties.      In  order  that  he  might    President 
have  something  to  do,  he  was   made  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate,  but  even  there  he  has  no  vote  except  in  case  of  a  tie. 

Investigate  and  report: 

The  qualifications  necessary  to  hold  the  office  of  President  (Const.,  Art. 
II,  sec.  I,  cl.  s). 

How  the  electors  elect  the  President  (Const.,  Amend.  XII). 

Who  would  become  President  if  both  the  President  and  the  Vice-President 
should  die? 

The  salary  of  the  President. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  529 

The  oath  taken  by  the  President  on  assuming  ofike.   The  difference  be- 
tween an  oath  and  an  affirmation.   (Art.  II,  sec.  i,  cl.  8.) 
The  powers  of  the  President  (Art.  II,  sec.  2). 
A  President  who  was  impeached. 
Why  no  President  has  been  elected  for  a  third  term. 
Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a  longer  term  for  the  President. 

The  President  is  at  the  head  of  a  stupendous  service  organiza- 
tion which  was  not  ready-made  by  the  Constitution,  but  which 

has  been  gradually  created  by  acts  of  Congress 

A       -^  ,   .       ,.    /  n.,      %  Growth  of  the 

under  its  express  and  implied  powers.    The  Con-    national 

stitution  did  not  even  create  the  great  adminis-  service  or- 
trative  departments  through  which  the  President 
works,  although  it  implied  that  such  departments  should  be 
created:  "The  President  .  .  .  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments, upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective 
offices"  (Art.  II,  sec.  2,  cl.  i).  The  heads  of  these  departments 
are  appointed  by  the  President,  are  responsible  to  him,  and  may 
be  removed  by  him.  Together  they  constitute  the  President's 
cabinet,  meeting  with  him  frequently  to  discuss  the  affairs  of 
their  departments  and  matters  of  pubhc  policy. 

Five  of  these  administrative  departments  were  created  during 
Washington's  administration.      These  five  have   ^j^^  adminis- 
grown  to  cover  a  multitude  of  activities  that  were   trative  de- 
not  at  first  contemplated,  and  five  other  great  p^^*™®"*^ 
departments  have  since  been  created. 

The  Department  of  State  maintains  relations  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  powers.  The  Secretary  of  State,  acting  for  the  President, 
negotiates  treaties  with  foreign  governments,  and  is  in  constant  communi- 
cation with  the  ambassadors,  ministers,  consuls,  and  other  representatives 
of  our  government  in  foreign  countries,  and  with  similar  representatives 
of  foreign  governments  in  this  country.  This  department  is  the  medium  of 
communication  between  the  President  and  the  governors  of  the  several  states. 
The  Secretary  of  State  has  in  his  keeping  the  treaties  and  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,  which  he  affixes  to 
proclamations,  commissions,  and  other  official  papers.    Through  him  the 


530  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

rights  of  American  citizens  in  foreign  countries  are  looked  after.  He  is 
first  in  rank  among  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  by  law  would  succeed 
to  the  Presidency  in  case  of  the  death  or  disability  of  both  the  President  and 
the  Vice-President. 

The  Department  of  the  Treasury  has  at  its  head  the  Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury, who  is  the  financial  manager  of  the  national  government.  He  prepares 
plans  for,  and  superintends  the  collection  of,  the  public  revenues;  deter- 


©  Klinedlnst 
PliESIDENT  HaIIDING   AND  HIS   CABINET 

mines  the  manner  of  keeping  the  public  accounts;  directs  the  coinage  and 
printing  of  money.  He  also  controls  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
public  buildings,  and  administers  the  pubhc  health  service  and  the  life-saving 
service. 

The  Department  of  War  is  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  who,  under 
the  President,  controls  the  military  establishment  and  superintends  the 
national  defense.  He  also  administers  river  and  harbor  improvements, 
the  prevention  of  obstruction  to  navigation,  and  the  building  of  bridges 
over  navigable  rivers  when  authorized  by  Congress.  He  also  has  direction 
of  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs,  which  supervises  the  government  of  Porto 
Rico  and  the  Philippines. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  531 

The  Department  of  Justice  has  at  its  head  the  Attorney  General,  who  is 
the  chief  hiw  officer  of  the  government,  and  represents  it  in  all  matters  of 
a  legal  nature.  He  is  the  legal  advisor  of  the  President  and  of  the  several 
executive  departments,  and  supervises  all  United  States  attorneys  and 
marshals  in  the  judicial  districts  into  which  the  country  is  divided. 

The  Post  Office  Department  is  administered  by  the  Postmaster  General 
(see  pp.  251-253). 

The  Department  of  the  Navy,  under  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  has  charge 
of  the  "construction,  manning,  equipment,  and  employment  of  vessels  of 
war. " 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  was  created  to  relieve  the  Department 
of  State  of  work  relating  to  internal  affairs,  and  now  embraces  a  wide  variety 
of  duties.  At  its  head  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  Through  many 
bureaus  and  divisions  it  administers  the  public  lands,  the  national  parks, 
the  giving  of  patents  for  inventions,  the  pensioning  of  soldiers,  Indian  affairs, 
education,  the  reclamation  service,  the  geological  survey,  the  improvement 
of  mining  methods  for  the  safety  of  miners,  certain  matters  pertaining  to 
the  territories  of  the  United  States,  and  certain  institutions  in  the  District 
of  Columbia. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
and  carries  on  a  great  variety  of  activities  for  the  promotion  of  agriculture 
and  the  well-being  of  the  agricultural  population. 

The  Department  of  Commerce,  under  the  Secretary  of  Commerce,  pro- 
motes the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  in  many  ways.  It  includes 
in  its  organization  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,  the 
Bureau  of  Corporations,  the  Census  Bureau,  the  Bureau  of  Lighthouses, 
the  Bureau  of  Nav-igation,  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  and  the  Bureau  of 
Standards. 

The  Department  of  Labor,  under  the  Secretary  of  Labor,  has  for  its  pur- 
pose "fostering,  promoting,  and  developing  the  welfare  of  the  wage  earners 
of  the  United  States,  improving  their  working  conditions,  and  advancing 
their  opportunities  for  profitable  employment."  Among  its  important 
bureaus  are  those  of  Immigration  and  of  Naturalization,  and  the  Children's 
Bureau,  which  investigates  and  reports  upon  "all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
welfare  of  children  and  child  life  among  all  classes  of  our  people. " 

In  addition  to  these  great  administrative  departments  with 
their  numerous  bureaus  and  subdivisions,  there  are  various 
boards,  commissions  and  establishments  that  are  independent  of 
the  departments. 


532 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


The  detailed  work  of  this  vast  service  organization  is  carried 
on  by  about  400,000  employees  (not  counting  the  army  and  the 
The  civil  navy).     These   constitute    the   civil   service.    The 

^service  quality  of  service  depends  largely  upon   the  ef- 

ficiency of  these  employees.  The  task  of  filling  all  these  places 
is  a  large  one.  In  Andrew  Jackson's  administration  (1829- 
1837)  the  "spoils  system"  was  introduced,  which  means  that 


The  White  House,  South  Front 

government  positions  were  treated  by  the  victorious  party  as 
"  the  spoils  of  victory, "  to  be  given  to  members  of  the  victorious 
party  as  rewards  for  party  service  without  much  regard  to 
fitness  for  the  work  to  be  done.  Whenever  the  administration 
passed  from  one  party  to  another,  the  army  of  civil  service 
employees  was  displaced  by  another  of  new  employees.  Not 
only  did  this  result  in  inefficient  service,  but  the  time  of  the 
President  and  the  heads  of  the  departments  was  largely  con- 
sumed in  considering  the  claims  of  those  seeking  appointment. 
Moreover,  since  appointments  could  be  made  only  "with  the 
advice  and  consent"  of  the  Senate,  senators  were  besieged  by 
applicants   for   positions   and    their   friends.     The    President, 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  533 

overwnelmed  by  the  multitude  of  appointments  to  be  made, 
came  to  rely  almost  wholly  upon  the  advice  of  the  senators, 
and  even  of  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  for  ap- 
pointments in  their  states  and  districts.  Thus,  in  effect,  ap- 
pointments were  made  by  members  of  Congress  rather  than 
by  the  President  who  was  really  responsible.  No  system  could 
have  been  devised  more  wasteful  of  the  time  of  the  executive 
and  legislative  branches  of  the  government,  or  more  conducive 
to  inefficiency. 

The  spoils  system  became  a  great  offense  to  the  nation,  but 
it  was  not  until  President  Garfield  was  murdered  by  a  dis- 
appointed   ofi&ce-seeker    that    Congress,   in    1883,    Reform  gf 
passed  a  law  for  the  reform  of  the  civil  service,    the  civil 
Candidates  for  many  positions  in  the  civil  service    ^^^**^® 
were  required  to  pass  an  examination  designed  to  prove  their 
fitness  for  the  work  to  be  done,  and  a  civil  service  commission 
was  created  to  administer  the  law  and  to  conduct  the  examina- 
tions, which  are  held  at  stated  intervals  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.    Those  appointed  under  this  system  cannot  be 
removed  except  for  cause.   Even  at  the  present  time,  however, 
only  about  half  of  the  civil  service  is  subject  to  this  merit  system. 

From  the  description  of  the  work  of  the  several  executive  departments 
on  pages  529-531  select  topics  for  special  investigation  and  report;  such  as: 

The  work  of  United  States  consuls. 

Coining  money;  the  United  States  bureau  of  engraving. 

The  life-saving  service  of  the  United  States. 

The  United  States  Army  in  war  and  peace. 

The  United  States  Army  as  an  organization  to  save  life,  especially  in 
its  work  of  sanitation  in  territories  occupied. 

Representatives  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Justice  in  your  com- 
munity, and  examples  of  their  work. 

Building  a  battleship.   Training  for  the  navy. 

Exploits  of  the  navy  in  war.   The  work  of  the  navy  in  time  of  peace. 

The  work  of  the  patent  office;  of  the  bureau  of  Indian  affairs;  of 
the  geological  survey;  of  the  bureau  of  mines. 

Taking  the  United  States  census. 


534  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

The  work  of  the  bureau  of  fisheries. 

Marvels  of  the  bureau  of  standards. 

The  immigration  bureau. 

Work  of  the  children's  bureau. 

How  an  immigrant  is  naturalized. 

The  Government  Printing  Office. 

The  Congressional  Library. 

The  spoils  system  in  Andrew  Jackson's  administration. 
How  would  you  go  about  it  to  take  an  examination  for  the  civil  service? 
Is  there  any  reason  why  a  mail  carrier  or  a  clerk  in  a  goverrmient  office 
should  be  a  Republican  or  a  Democrat? 

What  employees  of  the  United  States  civil  service  are  there  in   your 
community? 

Efficient  government  requires  strong,  clearly  recognized 
leadership.  Democratic  government  requires  that  its  leader- 
ship shall  be  responsive  to  the  needs  of  the  peo- 
and  respon-  pie  and  under  their  control.  The  problem  of  how 
sible  leader-  ^q  secure  strong  leadership  and  controlled  leader- 
ship at  one  and  the  same  time  is  a  difficult  one. 
So  far  as  the  executive  branch  of  government  alone  is  concerned, 
the  f  ramers  of  the  Constitution  secured  strength  by  concentrating 
full  responsibility  in  the  President.  But  did  they  expect  him 
to  be  their  leader  in  the  government  as  a  whole;  that  is,  in 
formulating  the  policies  of  government  that  should  serve  as  the 
basis  for  legislation?  We  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  him 
as  our  national  leader,  but  was  he  made  so  in  fact? 

In  fact,  the  f ramers  of  the  Constitution  were  apparently 
more  concerned  about  maintaining  control  over  the  President 
Leadership  of  than  about  clearly  making  him  the  nation's  leader, 
the  President  About  the  only  indication  the  Constitution  con- 
tains that  he  was  to  be  such  a  leader  is  the  statement  that  he 
"shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such 
measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient"  (Art.  II, 
sec.  3).  He  does  submit  recommendations  to  Congress  at  the 
opening  of  each  of  its  terms  and  often  at  other  times.    If  the 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


535 


President  and  the  majority  in  Congress  are  of  the  same  poHtical 
party,  Congress  is  pretty  likely  to  follow  the  President's  lead; 
or,  if  the  President  has  a  commanding  personality  and  is  clearly 
popular  with  the  people,  he  may  force  measures  through  even 
an  unwilling  Congress.  But  if  differences  arise  between  the 
President  and  Congress,  especially  when  one  or  both  Houses  of 
Congress  are  of  the  opposite  party  from  the  President,  his 
recommendations  may  be  entirely  ignored.  By  our  system  of 
"checks  and  balances"  the  President  is  "controlled,"  but  he 
ceases  to  be  a  leader  when  he  does  not  have  the  "following" 
of  Congress,  or  of  the  majority  of  the  people. 

President  Wilson  began  his  second  administration  with  a  majority  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress  of  his  political  party,  and  apparently  in  popular 
favor.  He  was  clearly  accepted  as  leader  and  practically  all  of  his  proposed 
measures  were  favorably  acted  upon  by  Congress.  In  the  middle  of  this 
administration  a  congressional  election  occurred  which  resulted  in  a  majority 
in  both  Houses  of  the  opposing  party.  This  result  might  be  considered  as 
a  popular  vote  against  the  leadership  of  the  President,  and  his  opponents 
did  consider  it  so.  Whether  this  was  true  or  not,  Congress  refused  to  follow 
his  leadership  in  many  important  questions,  including  the  treaty  of  peace 
with  Germany. 

It  will  be  helpful  to  compare  this  situation  with  the  method 
by  which  England  has  worked  out  the  problem  of    Control  of 
leadership  and  control  of  leadership.  England""^  '" 

The  real  executive  head  in  the  English  government  is  the  prime  minister. 
The  king  appoints  the  prime  minister,  but  he  always  chooses  for  the  position 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  political  party  that  is  in  the  majority  in  the  House 
of  Commons  (which  corresponds  to  our  House  of  Representatives). 

The  prime  minister  having  been  appointed,  he  then  selects  the  other 
members  of  his  cabinet,  who  are  to  be  the  heads  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments, and  who  are  also  members  of  parliament. 

The  prime  minister  and  the  other  members  of  the  cabinet  have  seats 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  contrary  to  the  practice  in  our  country.  They 
also  take  the  lead  in  legislation,  for  most  of  the  important  bills  considered 
in  the  House  of  Commons  are  planned  and  introduced  by  the  cabinet.  So  the 
executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  English  government  are  not  separ- 
ated as  in  our  country.   The  same  group  of  men  manage  the  service  organ- 


536 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


ization  and  lead  in  planning  the  legislation  that  makes  the  service  possible. 

It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that  the  cabinet  introduces  a  measure 

which,  after  discussion,  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons  rejects.   This 

means  that  on  this  question  the  cabinet  no  longer  represents  the  majorit\- 


The  Capitol  at  Washington 


in  the  House.  Then  one  of  two  things  happens.  Either  the  cabinet  resigns 
in  a  body  to  make  way  for  a  new  cabinet  that  does  represent  the  majority; 
or  the  prime  minister  asks  for  a  general  election  for  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  If  at  this  election  a  majority  is  again  returned  that  is  opposed  to 
the  cabinet,  it  means  that  the  cabinet  no  longer  leads  the  people,  and  it 
resigns.  If  a  majority  is  returned  in  support  of  the  cabinet,  it  means  that 
the  old  House  was  no  longer  representative  of  the  people,  and  the  old 
cabinet  retains  its  leadership. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  537 

This  system  gives  the  English  jKople  vwrc  direct  control  over  their  govern- 
ment than  we  have  in  our  country;  it  is  very  much  like  the  method  of  recall 
that  is  used  in  some  of  our  states  (see  p.  447).  At  the  same  time,  it  makes 
sure  a  real  executive  leadership  icilhin  the  government,  a  leadership  that  is 
both  responsive  and  responsible  to  the  people. 

Not  only  does  our  Constilution  fail  clearly  to  provide  for 
responsible  leadership  within  the  government,  but  our  system  of 
"  checks  and  balances, "  our  party  system  of  govern-  Growth  of 
ment,  and  the  organization  and  rules  of  Congress,  irresponsible 
all  taken  together,  have  tended  to  confuse  our  ^*  ^^^  ^ 
leadership,  and  to  impose  upon  us  an  irresponsible  leadership, 
outside  of  the  government  as  outlined  by  the  Constitution.  To 
understand  this  it  will  first  be  necessary  to  exam'ine  the  organiza- 
tion of  Congress. 

Congress,  like  the  state  legislatures,  consists  of  two  chambers, 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate;  this 
being  another  instance  of  "checks  and  balances." 

The  creation  of  two  chambers  in  the  Congress  made  possible  a  satisfactory 
settlement  of  a  dispute  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  with  regard  to  the 
basis  of  representation.  The  larger  states  wanted  representation  propor- 
tional to  their  population,  while  the  smaller  states  insisted  upon  equal 
representation  for  all  the  states.  It  was  settled  that  there  should  be  equal 
representation  in  the  Senate,  and  proportional  representation  in  the  House 
of  Representatives.  This  is  one  of  a  series  of  compromises  that  had  to 
be  made  between  the  two  parties  in  the  convention.  In  fact,  the  Constitu- 
tion is  a  series  of  compromises  from  beginning  to  end.  Only  thirty-nine  of 
the  fifty-five  delegates  in  the  convention  signed  the  Constitution,  and  it  is 
probable  that  no  one  even  of  the  thirty-nine  was  wholly  pleased  with  it. 

The  number  of  representatives  in  the  first  Congress  from 
each  state  was  fixed  in  the  Constitution,  and  provision  made  for  a 
census  in  1 790  and  every  ten  years  thereafter,  on  the  ^j^^  ^^^^^  ^f 
basis  of  which  a  reapportionment  should  be  made.  Representa- 
At  present  there  are  435  members  of  the  House,  one  ^''^^ 
for  about  every  212,000  of  the  population.  They  are  elected  by 
direct  vote  of  the  people,  one  from  each  of  the  congressional  dis- 
tricis  into  which  each  state  is  divided,  and  for  a  term  of  two  years. 


538  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

There  are  two  senators  from  each  state.  The  Constitution 
provided  that  they  were  to  be  elected  by  the  state  legislatures, 

another  evidence  of  distrust  of  the  people.  In 
The  Senate  ,  ,  ,  ,        ^ 

1 913,  the  seventeenth  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution was  enacted,  providing  for  the  election  of  senators 
by  popular  vote,  showing  the  growing  spirit  of  democracy  and 
the  distrust  of  the  state  legislatures  (see  page  508).  Senators 
are  elected  for  six  years,  but  the  term  of  only  one  third  of  them 
expires  at  the  same  time,  so  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  Senate 
have  always  had  at  least  two  years'  experience.  No  citizen 
may  become  a  senator  until  he  is  thirty  years  of  age,  while  one 
may  become  a  member  of  the  lower  house  at  twenty-five. 

The  House  of  Representatives  has  one  important  power  not 
possessed  by  the  Senate:  it  alone  can  originate  bills  for  raising 
Exclusive  revenue.  This  is  because  its  members  were 
powers  of         supposed  to  be  more  directly  representative  of  the 

people  than  the  senators.  However,  the  Senate 
may  amend  such  bills,  and  often  succeeds  in  forcing  the  House  to 
accept  such  radical  amendments  as  practically  to  destroy  the  ad- 
vantages possessed  by  the  latter  in  its  power  to  originate  the  bills. 
In  addition  to  its  law-making  powers,  the  Senate  was  intended 
to  be  an  advisory  council  to  the  President.  Only  with  its 
''advice  and  consent"  may  the  President  make  appointments 
and  treaties. 

Investigate  and  report  on  the  following: 

The  compromises  of  the  Constitution. 

The  census  of  1920. 

The  number  of  congressional  districts  in  your  state,  and  the  number 
of  the  one  you  live  in. 

The  names  of  your  representative  and  senators. 

The  qualifications  for  election  to  the  House  of  Representatives  and  to 
the  Senate  (Art.  I,  sees.  2  and  3).  Compare  with  the  quahfications  for 
election  to  the  two  houses  of  your  legislature. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Senate  that  make  it  more  conservative  than 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  meaning  of  "conservatism." 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  539 

\Miy  the  Senate  should  be  more  conservative  than  the  House. 

The  "long"  and  "short"  sessions  of  Congress. 

How  vacancies  in  Congress  are  filled  between  elections. 

Legislation  in  which  the  representative  from  your  district  has  been 
especially  interested  during  the  last  session  of  Congress. 

In  England  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  is  not  required  to  be  a 
resident  of  the  district  which  he  represents.  Arguments  for  and  against 
this  plan. 

Debate  the  question:  Resolved,  that  our  Constitution  should  l:)c  amended 
to  provide  for  a  "responsible  cabinet  government"  as  in  England. 

The  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  is  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  while  that  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  a 
Speaker  elected  by  the  House.  The  Vice-President  Organization 
has  no  vote  in  the  Senate  except  in  case  of  a  tie,  °^  Congress 
when  he  may  cast  the  deciding  vote.  The  Speaker,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  all  the  rights  of  any  other  member  and  has  large 
powers  by  virtue  of  his  position.  He  is  always  elected  by  a 
strictly  party  vote,  and  therefore  represents  the  majority  party 
in  the  House. 

As  in  the  state  legislatures,  and  for  the  same  reason,  most  of 
the  work  of  legislation  in  Congress  is  done  by  standing  com- 
mittees, of  which  there  are  about  sixty  in  the  The  Commit- 
House  and  about  seventy-five  in  the  Senate.  As  *®®  System 
in  the  state  legislatures,  these  committees  are  chosen  on  party 
lines,  the  chairmen  and  the  majority  of  the  members  always 
being  of  the  majority  party.  The  procedure  by  which  legislation 
is  carried  on  in  Congress  is  very  much  the  same  as  that  in  the 
state  legislatures  (see  page  505),  and  has  the  same  advantages 
and  disadvantages.  There  is  even  greater  necessity  for  the 
committee  organization  and  for  rules  because  of  the  vastly 
greater  number  of  bills  introduced.  In  a  recent  Congress  more 
than  33,000  bills  were  introduced  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives alone.  Whereas  in  the  state  legislatures  some  of  the  rules 
of  procedure  are  fixed  by  the  state  constitutions,  the  rules  of 
Congress  are  determined  entirely  by  each  House  for  itself. 


540  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

Unquestionably  this  organization  of  Congress  is  designed  to 
facilitate  business,  and  it  does  make  possible  the  handling  of  an 
enormous   amount    of    work    that   could    not    be 
jjja  handled  otherwise.   And  yet  the  very  same  organi- 

defeat  zation  and  rules  are  responsible  for  much  delay 

gmjg  in  legislation.    A  few  members,  skilled  in  parlia- 

mentary law,  may  sometimes,  by  taking  advantage 
of  certain  rules  of  procedure,  completely  block  the  transaction 


A  Corner  in  One  Room  of  the  United  States  Census  Bureau 
Compiling  vital  statistics 

of  business  contrary  to  the  desire  of  the  majority.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  leaders  in  Congress  (they  might  almost  be  called 
"masters"),  such  as  the  Speaker,  the  committee  on  rules,  and 
the  chairmen  of  some  of  the  other  committees,  may  some- 
times rush  legislation  through  in  a  "  cut-and-dried "  manner. 
One  member  of  the  minority  in  Congress  complained: 

You  send  important  questions  to  a  committee,  you  put  into  the  hands  of 
a  few  men  the  power  to  bring  in  bills,  and  then  they  are  brought  in  with  an 
ironclad  rule,  and  rammed  down  the  throats  of  members;  and  then  those 
measures  are  sent  out  as  being  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  Congress 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  541 

of  the  United  States  when  no  dehberate  judgment  has  been  expressed  by 
any  man. 

Again,  this  organization  of  Congress  often  leads  to  confused 
and  "piecemeal"  legislation.   Thousands  of  bills  are  introduced 
and  handled  by  different   committees  acting  inde-    piecemeal 
pendently    of    one    another    and    without    unity    legislation 
of  purpose.    It  was  pointed  out  during  the  recent  war,  for  ex- 
ample, that 

One  committee  or  sub-committee  has  supervision  of  the  building  of  bar- 
racks at  a  given  army  post  while  another  committee  or  sub-committee  has 
supervision  of  building  the  hospital  at  the  same  post.  One  committee 
has  jurisdiction  of  the  guns,  another  committee  has  jurisdiction  of  the 
emplacement  of  the  guns.  All  committees  are  jealous  of  their  own  pre- 
rogatives and  sometimes  more  or  less  jealous  of  other  committees.^ 

While  there  is  a  "committee  on  appropriations"  in  the  House 
of  Representatives, 

On  the  ground  that  no  single  group  of  men  can  give  a  speedy  and 
careful  scrutiny  to  the  whole  range  of  appropriation  measures,  one  class 
of  appropriations  after  another  has  been  taken  away  from  this  committee 
and  intrusted  to  other  committees  until,  as  a  result,  the  work  of  pre- 
paring appropriations  in  the  House  of  Representatives  is  broken  up  so 
that  there  are  now  no  less  than  fourteen  general  appropriation  bills  pre- 
pared by  seven  different  committees.'^ 

This  procedure  in   Congress  has  caused  leadership   to  be- 
come diffused,  hidden,  and  often  to  pass  outside  of  the  govern- 
ment altogether  into  the  hands  of  "bosses"  and    Disused 
special   "interests."    There  can  be  no  well-con-    leadership 
ceived  plan  worked  out  by  responsible  leaders  and 
approved  by  Congress  as  a  whole.    There  may  be  "plans," 
worked  out  by  leaders  in  Congress,  but  they  are  likely  to  be 
plans  designed  to  serve  party  ends  rather  than  to  promote  a 
well-thought-out  program  of  national  development. 

'Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget,"  Saturday  Evening  Post,  Jan.  3,  1920,  p.  166. 
2  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  p.  366. 


542 


COMMUNITY  CIVICS 


In  the  English  government, as  we  have  seen  (page  535),  leader- 
ship in  legislation  is  provided  for  in  the  prime  minister  and  his 
cabinet.      At  the  same  time,    that  leadership  is 
Congress  to    controlled  effectively  by  the  people's  representa- 
watch  the       ^iygg  [^  parliament.     The  great  EngUsh  philoso- 
executive       ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^.^  (1806-1873),  thus  stated 

the  purpose  of  the  EngHsh  House  of  Commons : 

To  watch  and  control  the  government -,1  to  throw  the  light  of  pubhcity  on 
its  acts;  to  compel  a  full  explanation  and  justification  of  all  of  them'  which 
any  one  considers  questionable;  to  censure  them  if  found  condemnable; 
to  be  at  once  the  nation's  committee  on  grievances;  an  arena  in  which  not 
only  the  opinion  of  the  nation,  but  that  of  every  section  of  it,  and  as  far  as 
possible,  of  every  eminent  individual  that  it  contains,  can  produce  itself 
in  full  sight  and  challenge  full  discussion. 

In  our  government  we  have  had  neither  the  same  leadership 
by  the  executive  nor  the  same  effective  control  by  Congress  that 
exist  in  the  English  government.    The  absence  of 
betJ^ee^n  ^^^^   leadership   is   especially   marked   when   the 

Congress  legislative  and  executive  branches  represent  oppos- 

^ecutfve  ^^8  parties,  as  sometimes  happens,  or  when  the  two 
branches  of  Congress  are  politically  opposed  to 
each  other.  It  is  at  just  such  times,  however,  that  Congress 
seeks  most  vigorously  to  "control"  the  executive;  but  it  is 
control  for  partisan  ends  more  often  than  for  efficiency  of  govern- 
ment. The  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  government 
are  each  extremely  jealous  of  any  encroachment  upon  its  powers 
by  the  other.  It  is  charged,  on  the  one  hand,  that  Congress,  by 
law,  exercises  administrative  powers  that  properly  belong  to 
the  executive.  On  the  other  hand,  Congress  alleges  that  the 
executive  branch  of  the  government  encroaches  on  its  legislative 
powers.  While  this  chapter  was  being  written  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  made  a  speech  in  which  he 
declared: 

1  "Government"  here  refers  to  the  executive  branch. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  '  543 

This  bill  presents  a  fine  specimen  of  bureaucratic  legislation.'  If  the 
Congress  ever  intends,  as  it  surely  does,  to  regain  the  powers  granted  it  by 
the  fathers,  of  which  it  is  now  temporarily  deprived  by  bureaucratic  en- 
croachment, now  is  the  time  to  start  upon  such  a  campaign  by  defeating 
by  a  decisive  majority  the  bill  now  offered  for  your  consideration.  .  .  . 
Every  time  you  weaken  Congress  by  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  in  which 
the  authority  of  Congress  is  lessened,  you  lay  one  more  stone  in  the  erection 
of  the  temple  of  autocracy.  .  .  .  These  bureaus  are  not  only  legislating  by 
administrative  processes  but  are  usurping  the  power  and  prerogatives  of 
the  people's  courts.  .  .  . 

A  part  of  the  difficulty  is  in  the  executive  branch  of  the  gov- 
ernment.  Although  the  national  government,  unlike  the  states, 

has  a  single-headed  executive,  the  executive  de- 

,     r  ...        .  ,  Duplication 

partments  are  composed  or  a  multitude  of  bureaus  and  confusion 

and  other  subdivisions  that  are  not  well  organized  ^^  *^®  execu- 

1     •  1     •  ,  rr^,  •     tive  branch 

m    their    relations    to    one    another.      There    is 

overlapping,  duplication,  and  even  conflict  of  work.  The  director 

of  finance  of  the  War  Department  said  that,  in  the  recent  war, 

The  War  Department  entered  this  war  without  any  iixed  or  carefully  di- 
gested and  prepared  financial  system.  There  were  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  five  .  .  .  bureaus  each  independent  of  the  others,  each  making  its 
own  contracts,  doing  its  own  purchasing,  doing  its  own  accounting,  with 
as  many  different  methods  as  there  were  bureaus.  As  a  result  they  were 
competing  with  each  other  in  a  market  where  the  supplies  in  many  cases 
for  which  they  were  competing  were  restricted  in  amount.  .  .  .  There  was 
no  central  authority  to  prune,  revise,  or  compare  estimates  submitted  and 
to  coordinate  expenditures,  and  that  naturally  resulted  in  overlappings  and 
duplications,  and  some  of  them  of  a  large  amount.^ 

But  even  for  this  duplication  and  lack  of  coordination  the  re- 
sponsibility ^  rests  largely  with  Congress,  for.  it  creates  depart- 
ments, bureaus,  and  other  subdivisions  of  the  executive  branch 
of  government,  defines  their  duties,  and  appropriates  the  money 
for  their  work;  and  in  Congress,  as  we  have  seen,  the  responsi- 

'  "Bureaucratic  legislation"  here  means  law  making  by  bureaus  in  the  execu- 
tive branch  of  the  government. 

2 Testimony  before  Budget  Committee,  quoted  by  Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget," 
Saturday  Evening  Post,  Jan.  3,  1920,  p.  32. 


544  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

bility  is  divided  among  a  large  number  of  committees  that  are 
not  well  codrdinated. 

As  this  chapter  is  being  written,  Congress  is  making  a  thor- 
ough survey  of  all  the  departments  of  the  executive  branch 
of  the  government,  with  a  view  to  a  reorganization  to  elimi- 
nate dupUcation  and  confusion,  and  to  secure  greater  efi&ciency 
and  economy  in  administration. 

Probably  the  most  important  step  taken  in  many  years  in  the 
direction  of  establishing  a  real  leadership  in  our  national 
A  national  government  and  making  possible  a  more  efifective 
budget  control  over  it,  is  the  enactment  by  Congress,  in 

sys  em  1 92 1 ,  of  a  law  providing  for  a  national  budget  system. 

This  Act  requires  the  President  to  submit  annually  to  Congress 
a  budget,  in  which  shall  be  set  forth  in  detail: 

1.  The  condition  of  the  Treasury  at  the  end  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  the 
estimated  condition  of  the  Treasury  at  the  end  of  the  year  in  progress,  and 
the  estimated  condition  of  the  Treasury  at  the  end  of  the  next  year  in  case 
the  proposals  of  the  budget  are  adopted; 

2.  The  revenues  and  expenditures  of  the  government  during  the  last 
fiscal  year,  and  the  estimated  revenues  and  expenditures  during  the  cur- 
rent year; 

3.  The  provisions  which,  in  his  opinion,  should  be  made  to  meet  the 
governmental  needs  during  the  year  to  come; 

4.  Other  necessary  or  helpful  financial  statements  and  data  for  the  in- 
formation of  Congress. 

"As  former  President  Taft  once  expressed  it,  the  formulation  and  sub- 
mission of  the  budget  will  be  the  supreme  act  of  the  President  as  the  head 
of  the  government.  .  .  .  For  the  first  time.  .  .  .  the  President  will  be 
under  the  obligation  of  meeting  the  primary  duty  of  a  general  manager  of 
submitting  to  his  board  of  directors  [Congress]  a  full  and  complete  report 
of  how  he  and  his  subordinates  have  conducted  operations  in  the  past 
and  what,  in  his  opinion,  should  be  the  financial  and  work  program  of  the 
government  in  the  future. "  ^ 

In  order  that  the  President  may  fulfil  his  obligation  as  im- 
posed by  the  law,  the  Budget  Act  creates  a  Bureau  of  the  Budget, 

'  W.  F.  Willoughby,  "National  Budget  System,"  in  The  Weekly  Review,  June 
18,  1921. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  545 

the  head  of  which  is  directly  responsible  to  the  President,  and 
the  duty  of  which  is  to  take  the  estimates  submitted  by  the 
heads  of  the  several  executive  departments,  to  analyze  and 
revise  them,  and  from  them  to  compile  a  single,  unified  estimate 
for  the  entire  government  establishment.  Heretofore,  each 
department  has  made  its  own  estimate,  naturally  seeking  to 
get  as  large  an  appropriation  as  possible,  and  has  then  submitted 
it  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  passed  it  on  to  Congress 
just  as  it  came  to  him,  along  with  the  estimates  of  all  the  other 
departments.  Congress  then  began,  through  its  various  commit- 
tees, an  attempt  to  legislate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  government. 

In  the  preparation  of  their  bills  the  committee  on  appropriations  and  the 
other  committees  in  charge  of  appropriations  are  compelled  to  work  more 
or  less  blindly.  Sometimes  they  hold  extensive  hearings  endeavoring  to 
get  a  complete  grasp  of  the  multitudinous  detailed  expenditures  for  which 
they  must  provide.  But,  of  course,  it  is  impossible  for  the  several  committees, 
in  the  time  at  their  disposal,  to  give  even  minor  matters  the  amount  of 
attention  demanded  by  sound  public  economy .1 

The  new  Bureau  of  the  Budget,  with  its  expert  staff,  now 
does  all  the  preliminary  work  of  investigation  and  is  at  the 
call  of  Congress  to  furnish  it,  as  well  as  the  President,  with  all 
necessary  information.  The  Budget  Bureau  also  has  the  duty 
of  studying  all  departments  of  the  executive  branch  of  the 
government  to  discover  where  reorganization  will  make  them 
more  efficient. 

Meanwhile,  the  House  of  Representatives  has  amended  its 
rules  so  that  hereafter  all  appropriations  to  meet  the  budget 
needs  will  be  made  by  a  single  appropriations 
committee.  Thus  while  the  responsibility  for  responsibility 
making  the  budget  is  fixed  definitely  with  the  fpr  appropria- 
President,  the  responsibility  for  meeting  budget 
requirements  is  fixed  equally  definitely  with  this  one  committee 
in  the  House  of  Representatives. 

1  Charles  A.,  Beard,  American  Government  and  Politics,  pp.  366,  367. 


546  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

If  only  a  reasonable  attempt  is  made  by  Congress  and  the  Administration 
to  carry  out  these  provisions  in  the  spirit  in  which  they  are  conceived,  a 
new  chapter  will  have  been  written  in  the  story  of  the  American  people's 
effort  to  obtain  an  honest  and  efficient  administration  of  their  national 
affairs.^ 

A  budget  system,  however  good  it  may  be,  like  all  other 
governmental  machinery  is  merely  an  organization  for  team 
Responsibil-  work,  and  will  do  very  little  good  unless  the  team 
ity;of  the  work  is  forthcoming,  not  only  among  the  various 

branches  and  departments  of  government,  but 
also  on  the  part  of  the  citizens.  The  new  national  budget 
system  will  be  effective  in  securing  better  service  and  better 
control  and  better  leadership  only  to  the  extent  that  Congress 
and  the  Executive  make  it  so.   Moreover, 

If  there  is  a  real  budget  it  has  got  to  be  your  budget.  It  will  be  good, 
bad  or  indifferent  finally  just  in  proportion  to  your  interest  in  it  and  your 
expression  of  that  interest  at  the  polls  and  elsewhere.  ...  If  there  is  a  good 
budget  system  —  not  on  paper,  but  in  actual  practice  —  you've  got  to  make 
it.  If,  when  a  budget  bill  is  finally  enacted  .  .  .  you  say,  "Well,  that  job 
is  done, "  and  dismiss  it  from  your  mind,  there  will  be  no  lasting  gain.  .  .  ? 

Effective  control  over  government  can  be  exercised  only  by 
public  opinion  and  public  interest.  We  may  have  any  kind  of 
government  we  want,  if  we  only  want  it  badly  enough,  and  only 
when  we  want  it  badly  enough.  The  blame  for  inefficiency 
and  wastefulness  on  the  part  of  government  at  Washington, 
or  at  the  state  capital,  or  in  the  city  hall,  rests  largely  with 
the  people  back  home,  who  are  either  selfish  or  blind  to  the  fact 
that  the  interests  of  the  nation  are  larger  than  their  own  or 
those  of  their  own  little  community.  The  very  people  who  talk 
most  loudly  about  the  extravagance  of  government,  or  about 
the  burden  of  taxes,  are  likely  to  be  the  ones  who  expect  most 
from  their  congressmen  for  purely  personal  or  local  advantage. 
They  are  likely  to  judge  their  representative's  fitness  for  his 

1  Willoughby,  "National  Budget  System,"  The  Weekly  Revie^v,  June  i8,  ig2i. 
^  Will  Payne,  "Your  Budget,''  Saturday  Evening  Post,  January  3,  1920,  p.  30. 


OUR  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT  547 

position  more  by  his  ability  to  get  funds  from  the  pubHc  treasury 
for  local  gratification  than  by  his  attitude  toward  great  national 
questions. 

Who  is  the  present  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives? 

Who  are  some  of  the  more  prominent  leaders  of  both  ppHtical  parties 
in  the  House  of  Representatives?  In  the  Senate? 

What  are  some  of  the  more  important  committees  in  each  House  of 
Congress? 

Report  on  the  procedure  by  which  a  bill  becomes  a  law,  from  the  time 
when  it  is  introduced  until  it  goes  into  effect  as  the  law  of  the  land  (see 
reference  to  Beard,  in  Readings). 

What  bills  have  been  introduced  by  the  representative  from  your  district? 
By  senators  from  your  state?  (The  Congressional  Record  will  give  this 
information.  It  should  be  in  your  public  library.  Consult  its  index  for  the 
names  of  your  representative  and  senators.) 

Follow  and  report  on  the  course  of  debate  on  some  important  question 
before  Congress  (see  Congressional  Record). 

What  is  meant  by  "filibustering"  in  Congress? 

What  are  the  reasons  for  the  privileges  conferred  upon  members  of  Con- 
gress by  Article  I,  section  6j  clause  i,  of  the  Constitution? 

What  is  "log-rolling"  in  Congress?  Why  so  called? 

Watch  the  newspapers  and  magazines  for  progress  on  the  reorganization 
of  the  administrative  departments  of  the  government  —  creation  of  new 
departments  or  bureaus,  consolidation  of  bureaus,  transfer  of  activities 
from  one  bureau  or  department  to  another,  etc. 

Report  on  the  organization  of  the  new  national  budget  system.  (Consult 
your  librarian.  A  copy  of  the  law  may  be  obtained  by  writing  to  your 
Congressman.) 

Who  is  the  director  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Budget?  Who  is  the  Comp- 
troller General?  What  are  the  duties  of  each? 

Why  does  publicity  regarding  the  acts  of  our  representatives  in  the 
government  give  the  people  greater  control  over  them? 

Watch  newspapers  and  magazines  for  accomplishments  by  the  new 
Bureau  of  the  Budget. 

Discuss  the  new  budget  system  until  you  are  sure  you  see  why  it  should 
give  the  President  greater  leadership,  and  secure  greater  efficiency  of  service 
and  greater  control  over  government  by  the  people. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  government  is  vested 
by  the  Constitution  "in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior 


548  COMMUNITY  CIVICS 

courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
establish"  (Art.  Ill,  sec.  i).  The  number  of  judges  in  the 
The  national  Supreme  Court  is  determined  by  Congress,  and 
judiciary  ^i^^y  g^j-g  appointed  by    the    President    with    the 

advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  At  present  the  Supreme 
Court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  eight  associate  justices. 
Congress  has  created  circuit  courts  of  appeals,  of  which  there  are 
now  nine,  each  "circuit"  including  several  states;  and  district 
courts,  of  which  there  is  at  least  one  in  every  state,  and  some- 
times several.  In  addition  to  these  there  is  a  court  of  customs 
appeals  and  a  court  of  claims,  for  special  classes  of  cases.  The 
courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  also  United  States  courts, 
inasmuch  as  the  District  is  governed  entirely  by  the  national 
government.  The  judges  of  all  United  States  courts  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  hold  office  for  life. 

The  powers  of  the  federal  courts  are  stated  in  Article  III,  sec- 
tion 2,  of  the  Constitution.  In  general,  they  have  jurisdiction 
Powers  of  ^^^^  cases  of  a  national  or  interstate  character, 
the  federal  Most  cases  that  come  in  the  first  instance  before  the 
cour  s  federal  courts  are  tried  in  the  United  States  district 

courts,  going  to  the  higher  courts  only  on  appeal;  but  there  are 
certain  classes  of  cases  that  go  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  once  (Art. 
Ill,  sec.  2,  cl.  2).  A  case  brought  to  trial  before  a  state  court  may 
be  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  when  the 
Constitution,  the  laws,  or  the  treaties  of  the  United  States 
are  involved,  and  its  decision  is  final.  The  Supreme  Court  may 
declare  a  law  passed  by  Congress  or  an  act  of  the  President 
null  and  void  if,  in  its  opinion,  such  law  or  act  is  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution.  It  has  been  questioned  whether 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  intended  the  Supreme  Court 
to  have  this  power,  but  it  exercises  the  power  on  the  ground  that 
the  Constitution  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  to  which  even 
Congress  and  the  President  are  subject,  and  that  it  is  the  sacred 
duty  of  the  courts  to  preserve  it  from  violation. 


OUR    NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT  549 

Study  the  powers  of  the  federal  courts  in  Article  III,  sections  i  and  2 
What  is  treason?   (Art.  Ill,  sec.  3,  cl.  i.) 

What  is  meant  by  the  second  clause  in  section  3  of  Article  III? 
Who  is  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States? 

READINGS 

Guerrier,   Edith,   The  Federal   Executive  Departments,   Bulletin,    1919,   No.   74 

U.S.  Bureau  of  Education. 
Swanton,  W.  I.,  Guide  to  United  States  Government  Publications,  Bulletin,  1918, 

No.  2,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education. 

In  Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Life: 

Series  A:  Lesson  12,  History  of  the  federal  departments. 

Lesson  iS,  Local  and  national  governments. 
Series  B:  Lesson  13,  The  Department  of  the  Interior. 

Lesson  14,  The  United  States  Public  Health  Service. 

Lesson  21,  National  standards  and  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 

In  Foerster  and  Pierson's  American  Ideals: 

The  nature  of  the  Union  (Daniel  Webster),  pp.  17-26. 

The  nature  of  the  Union  (John  C.  Calhoun),  pp.  27-44. 

Jeflerson's  First  Inaugural  Address,  pp.  SO-64. 

The  frame  of  the  national  government  (Bryce),  pp.  285-300. 

Criticism  of  the  federal  system  (Bryce),  pp.  301-311. 

Merits  of  the  federal  system  (Bryce),  pp.  312-321. 
Beard,  C.  A.,  American  Government  and  Politics,  Part  ii,  especially  chaps,  xi  and  xiv 
Hart,  A.  B.,  Actual  Government,  Part  v.  The  National  Government  in  Action. 
Bryce,  James,  The  American  Commonwealth,  vol.  I,  Part  i. 
Wilson,  Woodrow,  Congressional  Government  (Houghton  Mifflin  Co.). 
Haskin,  F.  J.,  The  American  Government  (Lippincott). 
Young,  The  New  American  Government  (Macmillan). 


APPENDIX 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Preamble 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  com- 
mon defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution 
for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I.     The  Legislative  Department 

Section  I.     Congress  in  General 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

Section  II.     House  of  Representatives 

1st  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the  elec- 
tors in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the 
most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  legislature. 

2d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of 
that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

3d  Clause.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to 
their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years, 
and,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The 
actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of 
ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.    The  number  of  rei>- 

551 


552  APPENDIX 

resentatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State 
shall  have  at  least  one  representative;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be 
made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massa- 
chusetts eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut 
five.  New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one, 
Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten.  North  Carolina  five.  South  Carolina  five,  and 
Georgia  three. 

4th  Clause.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacan- 
cies. 

6th  Clause.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III.     The  Senate. 

1st  Clause.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  fwo 
senators  from  each  State,  shosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years; 
and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2d  Clause.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the 
expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so 
that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year;  and  if  vacancies  happen 
by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any 
State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the 
next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3d  Clause.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

4th  Clause.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5th  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  Presi- 
dent pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall 
exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

6th  Clause.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  all  be  on  oath  or  affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall 
preside;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  twc 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES         553 

7th  Clause.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
ihan  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any 
office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  imder  the  United  Slates;  but  the  party  con- 
victed shall  nevertheless  be  liab'e  and  subject  to  indictment, trial,  judgment, 
and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

Section  IV.     Both  Houses. 

1st  Clause.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  sen- 
ators and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legis- 
lature thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such 
regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  senators. 

M  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall 
by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 

1st  Clause.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members, 
in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

M  Clause.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish 
its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Sd  Clause.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judg- 
ment require  secrecy;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered 
on  the  journal. 

4th  Clause.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other 
place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI.     Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members. 

1st  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treas- 
ury of  the  United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony 
and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance 
at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from 


554  APPENDIX 

the  same;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  place. 

M  Clause.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof 
shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his 
continuance  in  office. 

Section  VII.    Mode  of  passing  Laws. 

1st  Clause.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments 
as  on  other  bills. 

M  Clause.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States ;  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he 
shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and 
proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  reconsideration  two-thirds  of  that 
house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objec- 
tions, to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if 
approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all 
such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays, 
and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered 
on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned 
by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had 
signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in 
which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Sd  Clause.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a 
question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or 
being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  pre- 
Bcribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       555 

Section  VIII.     Powers  granted  to  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1st  Clause.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to 
pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of 
the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States; 

M  Clause.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

Sd  Clause.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

4th  Clause.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

6th  Clause.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

6th  Clause.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

7th  Clause.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads; 

8th  Clause.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their 
respective  writings  and  discoveries; 

9th  Clause.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court; 

10th  Clause.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations; 

11th  Clause.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

12th  Clause.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years; 

ISth  Clause.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

14th  Clause.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces ; 

15th  Clause.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Union,  .uppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions; 

16th  Clause.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and ' disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the 
appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  accord- 
ing to  the  d.scipline  prescribed  by  Congress; 

17th  Cliuse.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of 
particula  •  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the 
Governn^nt  of  the  United  States;  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all 


556  APPENDIX 

places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the 
same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards, 
and  other  needful  buildings ; — and 

18th  Clause.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested 
by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section  IX.     Powers  denied  to  the  United  States. 

1st  Clause.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by 
the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars 
for  each  person. 

M  Clause.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may 
require  it. 

Sd  Clause.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4th  Clause.  No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

5th  Clause.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

6th  Clause.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another;  nor  shall  vessels 
bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in 
another. 

7th  Clause.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

8th  Clause.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  thtm  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolun  ent,  office,  or 
title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  X.     Powers  denied  to  the  States. 

1st  Clause.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  .  onfedera- 
tion;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit; 
make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  d.  bts;  pass 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       557 

any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts, or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

M  Clause.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely 
necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties 
and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use 
of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

3d  Clause.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty 
of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any 
agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage 
in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II.    The  Executive  Department. 

Section  I.     President  and  Vice-President. 

1st  Clause.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four 
years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows: 

2d  Clause.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  sen- 
ators and  representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress. 
But  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or 
profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  3d  clause  has  been  superseded  by  the  12th  article  of  Amendments. 
See  page  xix.] 

4th  Clause.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  elec- 
tors, and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day  shall  be 
the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

5th  Clause.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be 
eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to 
that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and 
been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

6th  Clause.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
Baid  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President ;  and  the  Congress 
may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability. 


558  APPENDIX 

both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then 
act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disabihty 
be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7th  Clause.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the 
period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within 
.that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

8th  Clause.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation: — 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  pre- 
serve, protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. " 

Section  II.     Powers  of  the  President. 

1st  Clquse.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opin- 
ion, in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments, 
upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he 
shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

M  Clause.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present 
concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  shall  appoint,  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  con- 
suls, judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States, 
whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment 
of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the 
courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

3d  Clause.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions, 
which  shall  expire  at  the  epd  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III.    Duties  of  the  President. 

He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions 
convene  both  houses  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  be- 
tween them  with  respect  to  the.  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES      559 

to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other 
public  ministers;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and 
ehall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV.     hnpeachment  of  the  President. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  convietion  of,  treason, 
bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.    The  Judicial  Department. 

Section  I.     The  United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time 
ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times, 
receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished 
during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  II.     Jurisdiction  of  the. United  Slates  Courts. 

1st  Clause.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties 
made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority;  to  all  cases  affecting 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers,  and  consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  jurisdiction ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall 
be  a  party;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States;  between  a  State 
and  citizens  of  another  State;  between  citizens  of  different  States;  between 
citizens  of  the  same  State  cKlming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States, 
and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or 
subjects. 

Sd  Clause.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court 
shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned, 
the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact, 
with  such  exceptions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

Sd  Clause.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall 
be  by  jury;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes 
shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State, 
the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  olaces  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have 
directed. 


560  APPENDIX 

Section  III.    Treason. 

1st  Clause.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  com- 
fort. No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of 
two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2d  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  for- 
feiture except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV.     Miscellaneous  Provisions. 

Section  I.     State  Records. 

FuU  faith  and  ^redit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts, 
records,  and  judicial  ^  roceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress 
may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and 
proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens. 

1st  Clause.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

M  Clause.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on 
demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be 
delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3d  Clause.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or 
regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III.    New  States  and  Territories. 

1st  Clause.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any 
other  State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States 
or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

M  Clause.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  aU 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be 
CO  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States  or  of  any  partic- 
ular State. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       561 

Section  IV.    Gv/irarUees  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion; 
and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the  legis- 
lature cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V.    Powers  of  Amendment. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary, 
chall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of 
the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention 
for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Congress:  provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the 
first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and  that  no 
State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.    Public  Debt,  Supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  Oath 
OF  Office,  Religious  Test. 

1st  Clause.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States 
under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2d  Clause.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law 
of  the  land;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything 
in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Sd  Clause.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial 
officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound 
by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious  test 
shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under 
the  United  States. 


562  APPENDIX 

ARTICLE  VTI.     Ratification  of  the  Constitution. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for 
the  estabUshment  of  this  Constitution  between  tne  States  so  ratifying  the 
same. 

AMENDMENTS 

i'ROPOSED  BY  CONGRESS  AND  RATIFIED  BY  THE  LEGISLATURES  OF  THE  SEVERAL 
STATES,  PURSUANT  TO  THE  FIFTH  ARTICLE  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  CONSTITUTION. 

Article  I.     Freedom  of  Religion. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  op 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech  or 
c_"  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition 
the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

Article  II.     Right  to  hear  Arms. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  state, 
the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Article  III.     Quartering  Soldiers  on  Citizens. 
No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the 
consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed 
by  law. 

Article  IV.     Search  Warrants. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers, 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated, and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by 
oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched, 
and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

Article  V.     Trial  for  Crime. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases 
arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service 
in  time  of  war  or  public  danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the 
same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  com- 
pelled in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private 
property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES      563 

Article  VI.     Rights  of  Accused  Persons. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the 
crkne  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been  previously 
ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  aucc- 
sation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  compul- 
sory process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance 
of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

Article  VII.    Suits  at  Common  Law. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact 
tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

Article  VIII.     Excessive  Bail. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

Article  IX.     Rights  Retained  by  the  People. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

Article  X.     Reserved  Rights  of  the  States. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor 
prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to 
the  people. 

Article  XL 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend 
to  any  suit,  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the 
United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of 
any  foreign  state. 

Article  XII. 

1st  Clause.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not 
be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in  their 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons 


564  APPENDIX 

voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate;  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have  such  major- 
ity, then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives 
shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the 
President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member 
or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon 
them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  consti- 
tutional disability  of  the  President. 

Sd  Clause.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President  ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary 
to  a  choice. 

Sd  Clause.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

Article  XIII. 

Section  I.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punish- 
ment for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Sec.  II.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 
legislation. 

Article  XIV. 

Section  I,  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       565 

States;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property, 
without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Sec.  II.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  per- 
sons in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to 
vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and 
judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is 
denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged, 
except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representa- 
tion therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citi'feens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Sec.  III.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Congress,  or 
elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken 
an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or 
as  a  member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer 
of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have 
engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  com- 
fort to  the  enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds 
of  each  house,  remove  such  disability. 

Sec.  IV.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  author- 
ized by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties 
for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned. 
But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt 
or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave;  but  all  such 
debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Sec.  V.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate  legis- 
lation, the  provisions  of  this  article. 

Article  XV. 

Section  I.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Sec.  II.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
piiate  legislation. 


566  APPENDIX 

Article   XVI. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes  on  incomes, 
from  whatever  source  derived,  without  apportionment  among  the  several 
States,  and  without  regard  to  any  census  or  enumeration. 

Article   XVII. 

Section  I.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  elected  by  the  people  thereof,  for  six  years; 
and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote.  The  electors  in  each  State  shall 
have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch 
of  the  State  Legislatures. 

Sec.  II.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  of  ajiy  State 
in  the  Senate,  the  executive  authority  of  such  State  shall  issue  writs  of 
election  to  fill  such  vacancies :  Provided  that  the  Legislature  of  any  State 
may  empower  the  executive  thereof  to  make  temporary  appointments 
until  the  people  fill  the  vacancies  by  election  as  the  Legislature  may  direct. 

Sec.  III.  This  amendment  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  affect  the 
election  or  term  of  any  Senator  chosen  before  it  becomes  valid  as  part  of 
the  Constitution. 

Article   XVIII. 

Section  I.  After  one  year  from  the  ratification  of  this  article,  the 
manufacture,  sale,  or  transportation  of  intoxicating  Uquors  within,  the 
importation  thereof  into,  or  the  exportation  thereof  from,  the  United 
States  and  all  territory  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  for  beverage 
purposes,  is  hereby  prohibited. 

Sec.  II.  The  Congress  and  the  several  States  shall  have  concurrent 
power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

Sec.  III.  This  article  shall  be  inoperative  unless  it  shall  have  been 
ratified  as  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  as  provided  in  the  Constitution,  within  seven  years  from 
the  date  of  the  submission  thereof  to  the  States  by  the  Congress. 


^        Article  XIX. 

Section  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  state  on  account 
of  sex. 

Sect.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation.  ' 


INDEX 


Abstract  of  title,  394 

Academies,  136 

Academy,  military,  240;  naval,  156 

Accidents,    128,    162-167,    191,    236, 

24s,  323,  401,  408 
Accounting,  501 
Accounts,  309,   310,  423,   465,   466, 

468,  509 
Administrative     departments,     474, 

482,  484,  485,  489,  510,  529,  543, 

545;  machinery,  347;  officers,  497; 

supervision,  480,  481 
Advertisements,  216,  247 
Aesthetic  wants,  196,  208-220 
Agricultural    boards,    347;    colleges, 

152,  154,  15s,  320,  457 

Agriculture,  84,  97,  375,  376;  depart- 
ment of,  180,  191,  233,  271,  311, 
313,  320,  362,  376,  383,  531;  secre- 
tary of,  272,  531 

Air,  pure,  12,  169-171 

Airplanes,  21,  82,  94,  95,  253 

Alcron,  O.,  489 

Alabama,  225 

Alaska,  73,  156,  246,  247,  371 

Albania,  112 

Aldermen,  473,  489 

Aliens,  59,  366,  431 

Allegiance,  pledge  of,  55 

Alleys,  121 

Almshouse,  403,  404,  405,  407 

Alphabet,  243 

Amendments,  493,  494,  519,  520,  521, 
538 

America  First,  104 

American  Child  Hygiene  Associa- 
tion, 192 

American  Federation  of  Labor,  335 


American  Peace  Society,  99 
American     Peace     and     Arbitration 

League,  99 
American  Red  Cross,  163,  192 
American  School  Citizenship  League, 

99 
Amusements,  128,  202,  203,  205 
Annapolis,  Md.,  156 
Anti-Trust  Law,  275 
Apartment  houses,  3,  116,  122,  123, 

172,  215,  216 
Appointments,  538 
Appropriations,   148,  422,  451,  459, 

461,  509,  541,  545 
Arbitration,  99,   loi,  337;  court  of, 

100 
Architecture,  211,  213,  455 
Argentine  Republic,  20 
Arizona,  377,  378,  515 
ArHngton  county,  Va.,  189,  192 
Armaments,  reduction  of,  241 
Army,  77,  78,  88,  89,  137,  154,  156, 

161,  244;  national,  239 
Art,  209,  216,  218;  commission,  215, 

218 
Articles  of  Confederation,  517,  519 
Asia,  95,  99 
Assay  offices,  349 
Assessment,  423,  425,  427 
Assessors,  425,  426,  451,  460,  462,  470 
Association,  3;  of  nations,  103 
Associations  for  cooperation,  31,  87, 

171,  205 
x\sy]ums,  405 
Attorney,  district,  513;  Prosecuting, 

513;  States,  513 
Attorney  General,  497,  531 
Auditor,  462;  General,  497 


567 


568 


INDEX 


Australia,  394 

Austria,  225 

Autocratic  government,  50,  131,  435, 

517 
Autocracy,  443 
Automobiles,  165,  220,  260,  261,  265, 

268,  271,  305 

Bail,  416,  514 

Ballot,   long,  463,  464,  465;  secret, 

445,  446;  short,  444,  466 
Baltimore,  63 
Bank  account,  6;  checks,  353,  354; 

commissioners,  347;  national,  525; 

notes,  353 
Banks,  315,   347,   352-356;  savings, 

317,  318;  school,  317 
Barter,  349 
Bathing  places,  204 
Beauty,  4,  5,  172,  207,  208-220,  267, 

268 
Belgian  relief,  90 
Belgium,  307,  375 
Berkeley,  Governor,  131 
Bethlehem  Steel  Works,  85 
Billboards,  216,  302 
Bills,  legislative,  501,  505,  506,  509, 

538,  539>  541 
Blackhst,  337 
Blind,  405 
Bolshevists,  339 
Bonds,  433,  437 

Borough,  64,  469,  470,  473,  477,  489 
Borrowing,  315,  316,  433 
Boss,  political,  443,  444,  446,  465, 

498,  499,  506,  541 
Bossism,  483,  484 
Boston,  211,  251,  258,  263,  387 
Boulevards,  217,  218 
Boycott,  337 
Boy  Scouts,  36,  206 
Bridges,  215,  216,  218,  461 
Brookline,  Mass.,  198,  453 
Brooklyn  Bridge,  71 
Bryce,  James,  475 


Budget,    309,    310,    423;    Act,    544; 

bureau  of,  544,  545;  exhibit,  181; 

system,  510,  544-546 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  379 
Building  regulation,  122,  229,  230 
Building  and  loan  associations,  319, 

320 
Buildings,  215,  218;  public,  238,  433, 

455,  461 
Burbank,  Luther,  76 
Burglars,  235 
Burglary,  228 
Business,  18,  29,  47,  287,  288,  339, 

340,  346 
By-laws,  450 
By-products,  313,  382 

Cabinet,  87,  408,  529,  530,  536,  542 
Cable,  submarine,  95,  254 
California,  233,   270,  377,  466,  468, 

480,  515  _ 
Campfire  Girls,  206 
Canada,  47 
Canals,  269,  277 
Candidates,  444,  447,  454,  463,  464, 

485,  527,  533 
Capital,  69,  289,  302,  314,  315,  317, 

328-343,  353,  361,  368,  427; 
national,  76,  86,  121,  122 

Capitahsm,  329 

Capitalistic  system,  329 

Capitalists,  320,  329-343 

Capitol,  496,  499,  502,  536 

Carelessness,  225,  226,  230,  252,  323 

Carnegie  Endowment  for  Interna- 
tional Peace,  99 

Caucus,  454 

Census,  113,  431;  bureau,  191,  355, 
363,  531,  540 

Center,  civic,  218;  community,  144, 
204;  market,  275;  recreation,  204; 
trade,  67,  68 

Charities,  department  of,  403;  com- 
missioner of,  403 

Charity,  406;  organization,  407 


INDEX 


569 


Charters,    148,    273,    468,   476,   477, 

479,  480 
Checks  and  balances,  523,  524,  535, 

537 
Chicago,  177,  197,  216,  225,  234,  257, 

260 
Child  health  organization,  192;  labor, 

128 
Children,  125,  163 

Children's  bureau,  157,  191,  364,  531 
Choice,  294,  29s,  297,  305,  307,  438, 

443,  445 
Christian  County,  Ky.,  69,  70,  268 
Christianity,  98 
Church,  5,  30,  32,  125,  126,  170,  221- 

223,  439,  450;  Peace  Union,  99 
Churches,  171,  405,  406 
Cincinnati,  O.,  118,  119 
Cities,  growth  of,  231 
Citizenships    42,    54-61,    113,     129, 

137,  196,  207,  226,  282,  302,  366, 

418,  490 
City  government,  470,  473-492,  493, 

497 

City  manager,  475;  plan,  188,  475, 
486,  487,  488 

City  planning,  121,  171,  213-216, 
218;  boards,  215 

Civil  administrative  code,  500;  cases, 
511;  law,  503,  511;  rights,  58; 
service,  485,  532,  533;  service  com- 
mission, 480,  485,  533;  suits,  512, 

513 
Civil  War,  353,  438 
Civilization,  4 

Cleanliness,  12,  181,  209,  211 
Clerk,  county,  462,  470;  town,  451, 

460 
Cleveland,  O.,  122,  180,  477,  518 
Clinics,  138,  168,  185 
Clubs,  31,  32,  54,  320 
Coal,  382,  387 
Coin,  349,  351 

Collective  bargaining,  335,  336 
College,  136 


Colleges,  84,  132,   154;  agricultural, 

152,  154,  JSS,  320,  457 
Colonies,  131,  251,  421,  493,  517 
Colonists,  96,  349,  391,  392,  436,  450, 

461 
Colorado,  377;  Fuel  and  Iron  Com- 
pany, 341 
Commerce,  241,  269,  274,  278,  348, 

523,    525;   chambers  of,   32,    iii; 

department    of,    362,    363,     531; 

Bureau  of  foreign  and  domestic, 

531;  Secretary  of,  531 
Commerce    Commission,    Interstate, 

274,  361 

Commercial  agents,  363 

Commission  form  of  government, 
188,  474,  475,  485,  486 

Committees,  legislative,  483, 484,  505, 
506,  507,  539,  540,  541,  544,  545 

Commons,  House  of,  535,  536,  542 

Communication,  97,  243-256,  476 

Community,  our,  62-74;  national, 
75-92;  world,  93-105 

Community  centers,  144,  204;  meet- 
ings, 458;  singing,  218;  spirit,  211, 
247 

Community  life,  common  purposes, 
i-io;  interdependence  in,  12-24; 
cooperation  in,  26-52;  of  the  na- 
tion, 75-92;  of  the  world,  93-105 

Community  Service,  Incorporated, 
206 

Compensation,  196,  339,  393,  396, 
415;  laws,  408 

Competition,  324-327,  331,  360,  361, 
366 

Compromises,  537 

Comptroller,  city,  489;  of  the  cur- 
rency, 352 

Concerts,  204,  218 

Conciliation,  364 

Confederation,  Articles  of,  517,  519 

Confidence,  316,  318,  351,  355 

Conflict,  323,  324;  between  capital 
and  labor,  327-343 


570 


INDEX 


Congress,  89,  113,  117,  142,  155,  156, 
180,  190,  221,  233,  239,  24s,  251, 
253,  269,  272,  278,  317,  355,  356, 
357,  366,  370,  371,  375,  376,  377, 
383,  429,  431,  447,  474,  489,  517, 

524,  525,  528,  529,  533,  535,  537- 
542,  543,  544,  545,  546,  548 

Connecticut,  503 

Conscription,  88,  89 

Conservation,  34,  368-390 

Consolidation,  church,  223;  school, 
146,  147,  223 

Constable,  235,  451,  460 

Constabulary,  237 

Constitution,  102,  436,  441,  468,  493, 
517;  state,  58,  150,  221,  393,  476, 
479,  480,  494,  495,  497,  499,  508, 
Sii,  513,  514,  515,  520,  539;  United 
States,  50,  52,  58,  81,  190,  221,  24s, 
247,  251,  253,  269,  275,  342,  347, 
366,  370,  392,  393,  396,  411,  415, 
416,  429,  430,  431,  436,  438,  441, 

493,  494,  513,  519,  520,  521,  522, 

525,  526,  527,  529,  534,  537,  538, 
547,  548 

Consuls,  100,  363 

Consumers,  326,  327,  360 

Contracts,  393,  484 

Control,  473,  481,  483,  484,  486,  487, 

499,  506,  523,  524,  534,  535,  537, 

542,  546 
Conventions,      constitutional,      493, 

494,  518,    519;   nominating,   436, 
446 

Convict  labor,  271 

Convicts,  414 

Cooperation,  26-38,  40-53,  70,  75, 
77,  79,  80,  88,  90,  97,  99,  109,  113, 
118,  163,  182,  184,  192,  197,  228, 
229,  232,  254,  257,  258,  268,  271, 
289,  319,  330,  334,  405,  406,  422, 
456,  469,  517,  519 

Copyrights,  348,  523 

Coroner,  462 

Corporations,  148,  149,  174,  273,  276, 


33°-333,  336,  361,  397,  398,  399, 
425,  475,  476,  481,  483;  bureau  of, 
531;  close,  473;  public  service,  267 

Corruption,  416 

Cost  of  living',  201,  202,  275,  326,  327. 
338,  376 

Council,  city,  148,  187,  398,  473,  474, 
477,  481,  483,  484,  485,  486;  town, 
470;  of  National  Defense,  87 

Counties,  104,  189,  235,  271,  436, 
493,  502 

County,  67,  68,  69,  70,  72,  145,  152, 
473,  476;  commissioners,  461,  464, 
468;  government,  450,  461-469, 
497;  seat,  467 

Courthouse,  462,  464 

Courts,  58,  ioi,  123,  124,  148,  249, 
346,  394,  395,  414,  415,  416,  417, 
418,  431,  462,  467,  480,  511-515, 
523,  524,  525,  526,  547-548 

Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations, 
102,  103 

Credit,  316,  318,  353,  354,  356 

Crime,  117,  323,  410-418,  439,  495, 

511,512,513 
Criminal  cases,  512,  513;  law,  511 
Criminals,  237,  401,  410-418 
Cuba,  191,  255,  256 
Cumberland  Road,  269 
Cumulative  vote,  447 
Currency,   351;  comptroller  of   the, 

352 
Custom,  47,  49,  346 
Custom  house,  424,  430,  431 
Customs  duties,  359 
Czar,  221 

Dance  halls,  203 
Dane  County,  Wis.,  67-69 
Dairies,  179 

Dayton,  O.,  403,  487,  488 
Dead  letters,  252 
Deaf,  405 

Death,  160,  163,  511;  penalty,  411; 
rate,  178 


INDEX 


571 


Declaration  of  Independence,  9,  10, 

22,  50,  51,  96 
Deed,  393,  394 
Deeds,  recorder  of,  393;  register  of, 

462 
Defectives,     185,     401,     402,     411; 

schools  for,  154 
Defects,  physical,  137-140,  160,  161, 

168,  288, '401 
Defense,    87,    89,     238;    Act,     239; 

Council  of  National,  87 
Delegated  powers,  521 
Delinquents,  154,  401,  410-41S 
Democracy,  9,  22,  49,  50,  75,  90,  131, 

137,  149,  247,  249,  303,  345,  427, 

435,  438,  440,  443,  444,  455,  487, 

489,  538;  industrial,  340 
Denver,  234,  349 
Dependence,  12-25,  283,  285,  288 
Dependency,  403,  404,  405,  411 
Dependents,  401-420 
Des  Moines,  258,  259,  261,  263,  266, 

312,  395,  486 
Despotism,  443 
Detroit,  64 

Diplomatic  service,  100 
Discoveries,  4 
Disease,  16,  109,  123,  168,  170,  185, 

191,  323,  401,  405,  408 
Diseases,  163,  168,  171,  174,  184,  186, 

192;  industrial,  173 
Dispensaries,  185 
Dissipation,  128,  202,  203 
District  attorney,  462,  513 
District  of  Columbia,  121,  148,  489, 

548 
District  court  {see  Courts) 
Districts,  congressional,  537;  election, 

502;  senatorial,  502 
Divorce,  124-126 
Draft,  selective,  88,  89,  239 
Dust,  12,  171,  173 
Duties,   57,   58;   customs,   359,   429; 

protective,  359-361 
Dwelling,  30,  iii,  116 


Earning,  303,  305;  a  living,  56,  141, 
282-300,  323,  409;  money,  6,  21 

East  Orange,  N.  J.,  198 

Economic  interests,  345-367 

Economics,  290 

Education,  32,  40,  60,  80,  97,  107, 
108,  115,  131-159,  163,  166,  171, 
186,  196,  202,  208,  209,  223,  296, 
298,  318,  329,  334,  335,  374,  402, 
409,  455,  466;  physical,  137-140; 
vocational,  141,  142;  boards  of, 
40,  44,  146,  148,  187,  481;  state 
commissioner  of,  146,  151;  depart- 
ment of,  151-153;  U.  S.  Bureau  of, 
iS5>  157)  191;  U.  S.  Department 
of,  156 

Efficiency,   131,   138,   171,    208,    253, 

303,  331,  456,  485,  501,  542 
Eg3'ptians,  243 

Election,  469,  515;  districts,  502 
Elections,  442,  446,  483,  484 
Electors,  527 
P^lectric  power,  267 
Elevated  railways,  262,  263,  265,  267 
Ellis  Island,  77 

Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  278 
Eminent  domain,  395,  396 
Employees,  34,  86,  164,  171,  200,  408, 

409,  484,  532 
Employers,  34,  79,  86,  164,  200,  325, 

327,  330,  333-408,  409 
Employers'  liability  laws,  408 
Employment  agencies,  347,  403,  498; 

of  children,  133;  service,  365,  366 
England,  47,  90,  95,  96,  102,  124,  131, 

225,  392,  421,  450,  461,  473,  477, 

523-  535,542 
Entomologists,  347 
Epidemic,  1S6 
Equality,  22,  196,  297,  345 
Equalization  boards,  426 
Equity,  514 
Estimate,   423,   510,   545;   board  of, 

148,  4S9 
Etiquette,  46 


572 


INDEX 


Europe,  95,  99,  11 1,  113 

Exchange,  rates  of,  352 

Excise  tax,  429,  432 

Executive  branch,  494-500,  509,  523, 

526-537,  543;  head,  517 
Explorers,  389 
Extravagance,  311 

Factory  inspectors,  347;  system,  329 
Factories,  127 

Families,  3,  89,  104,  115,  323 
Family,  i,  2,  6,  21,  54,  107,  108,  iii, 

124-129,  145,  401  (sec  Home) 
Farewell  Address,  Washington's,  94, 

441 
Farmer,  12,  14,  82,  86,  208 
Farm  Loan  Act,  356 
Federal  Aid  Road  Act,  272 
Federal  Farm  Loan  Act,  356;  Farm 

Loan    Banks,    356;    Farm    Loan 

Board,  356 
Federal  Reserve  Banks,  355;  Board, 

355;  districts,  355 
Federalist  Party,  525 
Fees,  465,  466 
Finance  committee,  454;  department, 

510 

Fines,  416,  511,  512 

Fire  chief,  233;  commissioners,  232; 
company,  29;  department,  41,  109, 
226,  232,  235,  236,  347;  insurance, 
228;  loss  from,  117,  123,  225-233; 
marshal,  470;  prevention,  225- 
233;   protection,    29,   41,   42,   469, 

483  _ 

First  aid,  163,  341 

Fisheries,  bureau  of,  363 

Fitchburg,  Mass.,  198 

Flag,  79,  81 

Flies,  183,  184,  191 

Floods,  228,  233-235,  239,  381 

Florida,  234 

Food,  2,  82,  90,  168,  170,  178-180; 
administration,  89,  90,  311;  admin- 
istrator, 90;  and  drugs  act,  191 


Foreign  population,  318,  454 
Foreigners,  78,  81,  116,  245,  439 
Forest   reserves,   383;    service,    347, 

383,  384 
Forester,  383 

Forestry  departments,  385 
Forests,  272,  383-385 
Fountains,  218 

France,  89,  90,  102,  in,  225,  311 
Franchises,  267,  397,  398,  399 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  42,  43,  171,  251, 

421,  423,  517 
Fraud,  374,  393,  406 
Freedom,  44,  45,  48,  58,  80,  81,  88, 

96,   104,   297,  303,  345,  347, 435; 

of  the  press,  247-249;  of  religion, 

80,  391;  of  speech,  247-249 
Freight,  269 
Fuel,  82,  89,  382,  387 

Galveston,  Texas,  485,  486 

Gambling,  203 

Games,  3 

Garbage,  44,  168,  182,  183,  184 

Garfield,  President,  533 

Geneva,  Switzerland,  98 

Geological  Survey,  225,  387 

Geologists,  state,  347 

Georgia,  285 

German  population,  78,  96,  97 

Germany,  77,  90,  95,  96,  102,  225, 
239,  375,  382,  408,  435 

Gettysburg  Address,  Lincoln's,  oppo- 
site frontispiece 

Girl  Scouts,  36,  206;  Pioneers,  206 

Golden  Rule,  221 

Government,  40-53.  435^449;  city, 
473-492;  national,  517-549;  state, 
493-516;  county,  461-468;  town- 
ships, 450-460;  village,  borough, 
and  town,  469-471 ;  Revolutionary, 
517;  English,  535-537,  542;  world, 
100-105.  (The  activities,  and  to 
some  extent  the  organization,  of 
local,  state,  and  national  govern- 


INDEX 


573 


ment  are  treated  in  each  chiptcr 
in  relation  to  the  topic  under  dis- 
cussion.) 

Governor,  146,  151,  152,  235,  239, 
480,  495-500,  508,  510,  515; 
colonial,  473,  477 

Graft,  416,  422 

Grafter,  294 

Great  Britain,  89,  239,  382 

Greeks,  78 

Guatemala,  96 

Hague,  The,  loi;  tribunal,  loi 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  353,  525 

Happiness,  9,  57,  80,  196,  209,  291, 
294 

Harding,  President,  522,  528,  530 

Havana,  Cuba,  256 

Hawaii,  394 

Health,  2,  12,  16,  42,  57,  108,  109, 
115,  117,  118,  128,  137-140,  160- 
195,  197,  223,  268,  303,  334,  387, 
403,  409,  415,  421,  456,  467,  468, 
476,  483;  board  of,  185,  187,  188, 
190,  451,  470,  481;  commissioner 
of,  188-190;  department  of,  109, 
171,  177,  179,  180,  185,  186,  187, 
188,  190,  235,  403;  laws,  498; 
officers,  169,  188,  189,  405,  462 

Hearings,  507 

Hebrew  population,  78 

Hieroglyphics,  243 

High  schools,  136,  137,  138 

Highway  departments,  270,  271,  272, 

273 
Highways,  44,  257-281;  state,  270 
Holland,  loi,  225 
Home,  the,  3,   28,  47,  84,  107-130, 

162,  178,  185,  284,  314,  329 
Home  rule,  468,  479,  480,  482,  483, 

485 
Homes,  95,  121,  211,  213 
Homestead  Act,  113,  371,  378,  385 
Homesteaders,  372,  378 
Hookworm  disease,  184 


Hoover,  Herbert,  go 

Hospitals,   168,    185,    190,   405,   406, 

413,  414 
Housing,  84,  115-120,  121,  122,  127, 

168,  169,  170,  171,  334,  456 
Houston,  Tex.,  17,  18 
Hudson  River  tubes,  264 
Humanity,  93,  96 
Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  453 

Idaho,  377 

Ideals,  75,  80,  91,  97,  105,  129 

Idleness,  202 

Illinois,  66,  269,  447,  46S,  497,  500, 

509,  510 
Illiteracy,  245,  408,  439 
Illiterates,  78,  244,  245 
Ill-mannered,  235 
Immigrants,  77,  169,  186,  523 
Immigration,   366;   Bureau   of,    186, 

366,  531 
Impeachment,  526 
Implied  powers,  525,  529 
Inauguration,  522 
Income,  201,  202,  309,  327,  338;  tax, 

424,  430,  431 
Incorporation,  469 
Increment,  unearned,  16 
Independence,  96;  Declaration  of,  9, 

10,  22,  50,  51,  96;  War  of,  81,  517 
Indian  Affairs,  Bureau  of,  156 
Indiana,  146,  147,  286,  497 
Indianapolis,  261 
Indians,  78,  156,  243,  349,  391,  392, 

523 

Indictment,  513 

Indoor  relief,  406 

Industrial  centers,  116,  169;  confer- 
ence, 81,  loi;  life,  245;  organiza- 
tion, 30,  31,  200;  schools,  405; 
system,  128,  323-344 

Industries,  30;  home,  359;  infant,  359 

Industry,  78,  79,  133,  141,  173,  200, 

293,  323-344,  381,  388 
Inequality,  132,  133,  327 


574 


INDEX 


Inheritance  tax,  424 

Initiative,  345,  437,  438,  447,  456, 
486,  508 

Injustice,  327 

Insular  affairs,  Bureau  of,  530;  terri- 
tories, 73 

Insurance,  319,  320,  335,  347;  com- 
missioners, 347;  life,  320;  social, 
129,  408,  409;  war  risk,  354,  365 

Interdependence,  12-25,  65,  66,  69, 
77,  82,  83,  84,  93,  95,  108,  141,  157, 
177,  189,  226,  289,  476 

Interior,  Department  of  the,  155, 
156,  166,  191,  371,  378,  387,  531; 
Secretary  of  the,  9,  531 

Internal  improvements,  267,  525 

International  government,  100-105 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
274,  361 

Inventions,  4,  84 

Investing,  303 

Investment,  314,  372 

Invisible  government,  506 

Ireland,  90 

Irrigation,  378,  381 

Italians,  78 

Italy,  90,  102,  225 

Jackson,  President,  532 

Jail,  412,  413,  417,  462 

Japan,  102 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  51,  153,  371,  466, 

525 
Jews,  126 

Judges,  394,  514,  515 
Judgments,  hasty,  22 
Judicial  branch,  494,  511-515;    dis- 
tricts, 467 
Junior  Health  departments,  192 
Junior  Red  Cross,  36,  99,  113,  192 
Jury,57, 416,  513,  514;  grand,  512,  513 
Justice,  22,  96,   170,   297,  346,  415, 
416,  417,  423,  440,  494,  513,  515, 
523;  chief,   526,   548;  department 
of,  361,  531 


Justices  of  the  peace,  126,  451,  460, 

470,  512 
Juvenile  court,  417,  418,  514 

Kansas,  372,  377 

Kentucky,  70,  268 

King,  131,  477,  49C,  517,  523,  535 

Knights  of  Columbus,  205 

Knowledge,  3,  4,  22 

Knoxboro,  N.  Y.,  63 

Labor,  97,  327-343,  368,  443;  adjust- 
ment boards,  80;  American  Fed- 
eration of,  335;  boards,  202,  347; 
child,  128;  convict,  271;  depart- 
ment of,  157,  191,  362,  364-366, 
408,  531;  disputes,  347;  division  of, 
28;  Review,  364;  secretary  of,  531; 
skilled  and  unskilled,  201;  unions, 
202 

Laboratories,  178,  180,  190 

Land,  285,  368-390;  commissioner, 
372;  office,  371,  372,  374,  387; 
ownership  of,  91,  392 

Lands,  public,  113,  155,  269,  370-378, 
460 

Lane,  Franklin  K.,  9,  13,  23,  76,  245, 
368 

Language,  78,  86,  97,  131,  243-245, 

454 

Law,  45,  47,  57,  132,  198,  391;  civil, 
503,  511;  common,  346;  criminal, 
511;  due  process  of,  275,  393,  394, 
514;  fundamental,  436;  statutory, 
346 

Laws,  46,  48,  49,  50,  59,  117,  133,  148, 
171,  173,  180,  185,  190,  202,  225, 
229,  230,  275,  277,  334,  361,  373, 
422,  436,  438,  517 

Leaders,  131,  150,  248 

Leadership,  28,  29,  36,  38,  40,  131, 
136,  149,  182,  197,  213,  330,  335, 
343,  406,  443,  444,  454,  456,  457, 
482,  484,  500,  501,  534,  535,  536, 
537,  541,  542,  544,  546 


INDEX 


575 


League  to  Enforce  Peace,  99 
League  of  Nations,  102-105,  248 
Legislation,  164,  483,  484,  504,  505, 

539-541 

Legislative  branch,  494,  501-508,  509 

Legislative  reference  bureau,  505 

Legislatures,  151,  444,  447,  468,  474, 
477,  479,  480,  481,  482,  484,  485, 
494,  495,  496,  497,  498,  501-508, 
510,  515,  523,  527,  538,  539 

Leisure,  200,  202,  207,  208 

L'Enfant,  Major,  214 

Leominster,  Mass.,  454 

Levees,  233,  382 

Lewis  and  Clark,  369 

Libel,  249 

Liberties,  521,  524 

Liberty,  9,  22,  104,  221;  bonds,  318 

Library  of  Congress,  219 

Licenses,  126,  424,  425 

Lieutenant  Governor,  497,  506 

Life,  2,  9,  16 

Light,  168,  267 

Lighting  system,   4,   210,   216,   237, 

455 

Lincoln  Memorial,  frontispiece 

Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address,  oppo- 
site frontispiece 

Living,  earning  a,  6,  56,  282-300  323; 
cost  of,  22,  201,  202,  275,  326,  327, 
33^,  376 

Lobby,  507 

Lockout,  337 

Lock-up,  412 

Lodging  houses,  403 

London,  225,  260 

Los  Angeles,  177,  231 

Louisiana,  225,  461 

Lowden,  Governor,  497 

Lunches,  school,  139,  141 

Lyme,  Conn.,  222 

Lynching,  415 

Machinery,  127,  329,  368 
Macon,  Ga.,  198 


Madison,  Wis.,  68,  152 

Magistrates,  416 

Mail,  246,  247,  272 

Maine,  225,  438 

Majority,   440,   441,   442,   445,   447, 

503,  506 
Management,  276,  308,  309,  333,  338, 

340,  444  _ 
Manager,  city,  475 
Manhattan,  260 
Manners,  46,  47,  48,  104 
Market  centers,  275;  curb,  332 
Markets,  66,  82,  115,  180 
Marriage,  125,  126 
Maryland,  121,  270,  438 
Massachusetts,  20,  133,  270,  436,  457, 

480,  501,  515 
Mayor,  148,  187,  232,  470,  473,  474, 

484,  485,  489 
Medical  inspection,  138,  185 
Members,  2,  54-56,  58,  78 
Membership,  54-56,  93,  197 
Merchant  marine,  83,  84,  156,  278, 

279 
Merchant  of  Venice,  97 
Merit  system,  533 
Messages,  governor's,  496;  mayor's, 

484;  President's,  534 
Metric  system,  358 
Michigan,  152,  286,  438,  470,  487 
Midvale  Steel  Company,  341 
Militia,  238,  239,  495 
Milk,  178,  179;  stations,  179 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  542 
Mineral  resources,  385-387 
Mines,  166;  Bureau  of,  166,  191,  387 
Mining,  387 

Minnesota,  285,  381,  480,  496 
Minority,  440,  441,  442,  446,  447 
Mints,  349;  director  of,  349 
Misdemeanors,  408 
Mississippi  River,  233;  commission, 

233 
Missouri,  469,  479,  480 
Mob,  26 


576 


INDEX 


Money,  20,  283,  284,  298,  305,  348, 
349-353,  356,  523;  orders,  252; 
paper,  349,  350 

Monopolies,  361 

Monopoly,  331 

Monroe  Doctrine,  94;  President,  94, 
102 

Montana,  225,  285,  377 

Mortgage,  305,  394 

Mosquitoes,  184 

Motor  truck,  253,  260,  265,  271 

Moving  pictures,  202,  203 

Music,  5,  200,  206,  218 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  99 

National  community,  our,  75-92; 
defense  act,  239;  forests,  383-385; 
government,  517-549;  guard,  238, 
239;  municipal  league,  486;  safety 
council,  166 

Nationality,  loi,  104 

Natural  resources,  84,  368-390 

Naturalization,  58-60,  439,  523; 
bureau  of,  366,  531 

Navigation,  95;  bureau  of,  363 

Navy,  155,  156,  239,  241;  Depart- 
ment of,  531;  secretary  of  the,  531 

Nebraska,  372,  377 

N,egroes,  78 

Nevada,  377 

Newark,  N.  J.,  64 

New  England,  14,  40,  49,  95,  145, 
146,  221,  222,  26.9,  285,  381,  436, 
439,  450,  451,  456,  463,  466,  467, 
502 

New  Hampshire,' 51 5 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  176 

New  Jersey,  270,  271 

New  Mexico,  377 

New  Orleans,  234,  349 

Newsboys,  220 

Newspapers,  3,  78,  179,  246-249,  254, 
279 

Newton,  Mass.,  198 

New  York  City,  16,  64,  71,  78,  137, 


138,  148,  177,  179,  181,  207,  216, 
225,  231,  235,  251,  253,  257,  260, 
261,  262,  263,  306,  307,  311,  332, 
403,  424,  478,  489;  State,  133,  153, 
190,  270,  285,  381,  461,  480,  481 
Niagara  Falls,  379 
Noises,  5,  123,  219,  220 
North  Carohna,  225,  465,  496 
North  Dakota,  225,  285,  377 
Northwest  Territory,  154 
Nurses,  185;  public  health,  168,  186, 
188;  school,  138 

Occupations,  6,  125,  127,   128,   173, 

283,  288,  293,  329,  415 
Office  seeking,  465 
Officials,  public,  294 
Ohio,  271,  286,  438,  479;  River,  233 
Oklahoma,  377 
Open-air  schools,  139 
Opport^unity,  7,  9,  196,  258,  297,  303, 

345;  land  of,  345,  346 
Ordinance  of  1787,  154 
Ordinances,  164,  171,  187,  470,  476, 

484 
Oregon,  377,  515;  University  of,  13, 

369 
Organization,  28,  29,  30,  31,  33,  87, 

88,  93,  100,  102,  232,  441,  456-460 
Organizations,   34,   35,   87,  88,   166, 

179,    192;   labor,   335;   voluntary, 

406,  407 
Orphans,  405 
Outdoor  relief,  406 
Overseer  of  the  poor,  402 
Ownership,     communal,     391,     392; 

government,  276,  277;  home,  113, 

114,  115;  individual,  391,  392 

Panama,  253;  canal,  225;  canal  zone, 

191,  251 
Pan-American  Building,  100;  Union, 

99 
Panic,  354 
Parcel  post,  252 


INDEX 


577 


Pardon,  495 

Pardons,  board  of,  495 

Paris,  260 

Parish,  461 

Parks,  108,  171,  204,  205,  215,  216, 
217,  218,  238,  455 

Parkways,  218 

Parliament,  535,  542 

Parliamentarj'-  law,  540 

Parole,  418 

Parties,  political,  103,  440,  441-443 

Partisan  influences,  503,  506,  515 

Partners,  328 

Partnership,  317 

Party,  political,  464,  484,  524,  525, 
527,  532,  535,  537,  542;  organiza- 
tion, 442,  443;  spirit,  441,  524; 
system,  442 

Patent  medicines,  191 

Patents,  348,  523 

Paternalism,  345 

Patriotism,  56,  75,  104,  105,  298,  302 

Pauperism,  406 

Pavements,  42,  171,  216,  265,  266, 
268,  421,  422 

Peace,  91,  96,  102;  conference,  100 
102,  248;  congresses,  99;  organiza- 
tions, 99;  world,  96 

Penitentiaries,  414,  415,  498 

Penn,  William,  214 

Pennsylvania,  237,  461,  479,  497,  499 

Pensions,  335,  409;  mothers',  129 

Petition,  391,  438,  446 

Philadelphia,  42,  44,  214,  251,  253, 
349,  518,  519 

Philippines,  191,  251,  394,  530 

Physical  defects,  137-140,  160,  161, 
168,  288,  401 

Pickets,  337 

Pioneer,  12,  14,  30,  107,  145,  285 

Pittsburgh,  78,  118,  257 

Plan,  city,  213-216 

Planning,  city,  121,  171,  261;  town, 
455,  456 

Play,  50,  108,  123,  139,  197-199 


Playground  commission,  198;  and 
Recreation  Association,  206 

Playgrounds,  36,  108,  171,  197,  198, 
199,  204,  248,  455 

Pleasure,  2,  3 

Plutocracy,  443 

Plymouth  Rock,  13 

Poland,  112 

Poles,  216 

Police,  26,  41,  164,  235-237,  347,  415, 
416,  483;  chief  of,  235;  commis- 
sioner, 235,  237;  courts,  514; 
department  of,  233,  235,  236,  417; 
marshal,  470;  power,  396,  397; 
protection,  469;  state,  236,  237 

Policeman,  44,  45,  46,  47 

Policy,  insurance,  228 

Political  campaign,  359;  corruption, 
416;  parties  (see  Parties  and  Party) 

Politicians,  443,  484,  487 

Pontics,  465,  483,  485 

Polls,  436,  445 

Poll  tax,  424 

Poor,  the,  460,  461;  overseer  of,  402, 
451;  relief,  403 

Population,  73,  93,  95,  no,  116,  174; 
racial  elements  in,  78,  79,  86 

Portland,  Ore.,  234 

Porto  Rico,  191,  530 

Postage,  251 

Postal  savings  system,  252,  317; 
service,  251-253,  254,  348 

Postmaster  General,  251,  531 

Post  office,  251-253,  269,  317,  523; 
department,  251-253,  254,  531 

Post  roads,  251,  253,  269,  523,  525 

Poverty,  323,  327,  403,  407,  411 

Preamble  of  the  Constitution,  50,  52, 

343,  436,  519 
Premium,  insurance,  228,  320 
President  of  the  United  States    52, 

89,  90,  96,  102,  239,  256,  276,  291, 

355,  3^3,  446,  489,  497,  5^9,  524, 
526,  527,  529,  530,  531,  532,  533, 

534,  535,  544,  545j  548 


578 


INDEX 


Press,  free,  80,  247 

Prices,  326,  327 

Primaries,  446 

Prime  minister,  95,  536,  542 

Printing,   131,   246;  bureau  of,  350, 

Prisons,  411,  413,  417 

Probation,  417;  officer,  418 

Profit,    289,    294,   330;   excess,   432; 

sharing,  340 
Profiteering,  327 
Prohibition,  203,  248,  408,  430 
Propaganda,  248,  249,  330 
Property,  6,  16,  29,   117,   275,  327, 

421;     common,     267;     individual 

ownership,  391,  392;  personal,  392, 

424;  protection  of,   115,   225-243; 

public,     238;    qualifications,    439; 

rights,  267,  338,  346,  347,  391-400; 

tax,  424 
Proportional  representation,  447 
Prosecutor,  462 
Protection  of  property,  225-242  (see 

Fire,  Police,  Property) 
Public  buildings  (^ee  Buildings) 
Public  health  service,  191 
Publicity,  248 
Public  lands  (see  Lands) 
Public  opinion,   132,   247,   248,  335, 

412,  546 
Public  roads,  office  of,  271,  272 
Public   safety,   department   of,    233; 

service  corporations,  267;  utilities, 

267,  397,  398;  commissions,    274, 

399,  481 
Public  works,  department  of,  265 
Punishment,  411,  413,  415,  416,  511 
Purposes,  common,  i-io,  26,  77,  79, 

93,  97;  national,  9,  80,  84,  86,  91, 

96,  196,  295  342  343;  world,  29s 

Quarantine,  180,  186,  192 

Racial  elements  of  population,  78,  86 
Radio-communication,  254 


Railroad    administration,    254,    276; 

commissions,  274,  347 
Railroads,  22,  82,  88,  172,  216,  235, 

317,  373,  547;  director  general  of, 

276 
Railways,  253,  257,  263,  269,  273-277 
Randolph  County,  Ind.,  146,  147,  319 
Rangers,  Texas,  237 
Rate,  tax,  425,  427 
Rates,    insurance,    228;    transporta- 
tion, 275 
Ratification,  493 
Rats,  183,  184 
Raw  materials,  82 
Real  estate,  424 
Recall,  447,  475,  486,  515,  537 
Reclamation,    377,    378;    Act,    377; 

service,  378 
Recorder  of  deeds,  393 
Recreation,  108,  128,  171,  196-208, 

223,  268,  334,  403,  409;  centers,  204 
Red  Cross,  American,  98,  99,   163, 

172,  301;  Junior,  36,  99,  113,  192; 

Societies,  League  of,  98 
Referendum,  437,  438,  447,  486,  508 
Reformatories,  413,  498 
Register  of  deeds,  393 
Rehabilitation,  402,  405,  411,  417 
Relief,    indoor,    406;    outdoor,    406; 

poor,  403,  405 
Rehgion,  221-223;  freedom  of,  58,  391 
Religions,  5 

Religious  differences,  97,   98;  influ- 
ences,    125;     qualifications,     439; 

wants,  5,  196,  221-223 
Rent,  115 

Representation,  448,  502 
Representatives,  436,  438,  441,  445, 

483,  523;  House  of,  501,  526,  533, 

535.  537,  538,  539,  545 
Republican   government,    467,   494; 

party,  103 
Reservations,  Indian,  156 
Resources,  natural,  84,  368-390 
Responsibility,  500 


INDEX 


579 


Responsiveness,  501 

Revenue,  359,  538 

Revolution,  96,  370,  474,  477,  517, 
521,  522 

Rhode  Island,  515 

Rights,  9,  22,  45,  49,  57,  58,  80,  81, 
96,  197,  267,  303,  345,  346,  347, 
415,  513;  bill  of,  521;  civil,  58,  59; 
declaration  of,  494;  political,  58, 
59,  60;  property,  235,  391-400 

Road  Act,  Federal  Aid,  272 

Roads,  70,  251,  253,  257,  268-273, 
374,  421,  433,  455,  460,  461,  467, 

525 
Rome,  78,  97 
Roosevelt,  President,  442 
Roosevelt  dam,  381 
Root,  Elihu,  zH3 
Rubbish,  183 
Rules,  46,  47,  49,  436,  506,  508,  537, 

539,  540;  of  the  game,  46,  197 
Rural  mail,  251-253 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  168,  188 
Russia,  323,  339,  448 

Sacramento  Valley,  233 

Safety,  108,  118,  164,  237,  267,  268, 

334,  387;  devices,   164,  333,  334, 

336,  408;  first,  166,  408 
St.  Louis,  163 
Saloon,  203 

Salt  Lake  City,  135,  137 
Salt  River,  378 
Salute,  52 

San  Francisco,  166,  234,  349 
Sanitariums,  405 

Sanitary  code,  190;  district,  177,  190 
Sanitation,  174,  191 
Saving,  303,  310,  368 
Savings,    252,    302,    309,    330,    333; 

stamps,  433 
School,  I,  2,  3,  6,  32,  35,  36,  47,  54, 

108,  109,  129,  161,  170;  army,  154; 

attendance,     132-134,     135,     136; 

board,    198;   buildings,    204,   218; 


committee,     40;     committeemen, 
451;  consolidation,  146,  147;  citi- 
zenship league,   99;   district,    145, 
146;     elementary,      136;     garden 
army,  36,  227,  376;  high,  132,  135; 
system,  476 
Schoolhouse,  12,  30,  40,  132,  145 
Schools,  22,  83,  84,  109,  115,  131-159, 
161,  163,  170,  185,  186,  198,  209, 
218,  248,  297,  347,  405,  407,  412, 
414,  415,  418,  421,  422,  462,  467; 
high,  132,  136;  normal,  132,  153, 
154;  private,  132 
Scientists,  82 
Scouts,  boy,  36;  girl,  36 
Selective  draft,  88,  423 
Selectmen,  450,  451 
Self-determination,  297,  303 
Self-government,  75,  476,  481,  493, 

494 
Senate,  102,  501,  502,  506,  526,  527, 

537,  538,  539,  548 

Senators,  519,  538 

Separation  of  powers,  494,  523 

Serbs,  78 

Service,  15,  19,  20,  35,  36,  56,  57,  58, 
98,  99,  105,  200,  213,  221,  275,  286, 
287,  293,  294,  297,  298,  303,  305, 
317,  330,  399,  415,  421,  435,  455, 
463,  473,  475,  481,  483,  487,  499, 
501,  524,  532,  546;  army,  291; 
organization,  232,  347,  366,  484, 
500,  529,  532;  training  schools  for, 

407 
Sewage,  108,  168,  177,  178,  181,  182, 

184 
Sewers,  44,  108,  181,  182,  268,  455, 

469 
Sheriff,  235,  422,  462 
Sherman  Act,  275,  361 
Shipping  board,  84,  156,  278 
Ships,  82,  84,  278,  279 
Shop,  closed,  336;  open,  336 
Shylock,  97 
Siam,  96 


58o 


INDEX 


Sickness,  i6o,  170 

Signals,  46 

Signs,  45,  210,  243,  245 

Slander,  249 

Slavery,  81 

Smith-Hughes  Act,  142 

Smith-Lever  Act,  376 

Smoke,  216,  387 

Smuggler,  428 

Social  life,  108,  223;  settlements,  295; 
wants,  196-208;  workers,  407 

Socialism,  339 

Soil,  375,  376,  386 

Soldiers,  26,  402 

South,  the,  145,  286 

South  America,  95,  99,  253 

South  Dakota,  225,  285,  377 

Sovereignty,  loi 

Soviet,  448 

Speaker,  506,  507,  539,  540 

Specialists,  155,  297 

Specialization,  298 

Speculators,  385 

Speech,  free,  58,  80,  391 

Spending,  303,  305 

Spoils  system,  532,  533 

Sports,  2,  3,  29,  46 

Springfield,  111.,  175 

Stamps,  postage,  251,  350;  postal 
savings,  317;  thrift,  307,  318; 
savings,  318,  433 

Standards,  356;  Bureau  of,  357,  358, 
359,  360,  362,  363,  531 

State  communities,  72,  73;  depart- 
ment of,  529;  government,  493- 
516;  secretary  of,  347 

States  Relations  Service,  313 

Statues,  218 

Statutes,  346 

Steam,  95;  engine,  329 

Steamships,  253,  269 

Stock,  capital,  331 

Stockholders,  148,  149,  333,  336 

Streams,  216 

Street,  162,  164,  215,  398;  cars,  21, 


220,  260;  cleaning,  42-44,  171,  183, 
216,  423;  commissioner,  470;  rail- 
ways, 35,  268,  307;  supervisors, 
422 

Streets,  2,  22,  45,  47,  115,  171,  172, 
182,  198,  211,  216,  217,  237,  248, 
257-268,  455,  469 

Strikes,  21,  79,  330,  337,  342,  364 

Suburbs,  64 

Subways,  263,  265,  267 

Suffrage,  437,  438,  439,  483 

Superintendent  of  schools,  146,  148, 
149,  151,  152,  188,  422,  462 

Supervisors,  board  of,  461,  464,  468 

Supreme  court  (sec  Courts) 

Surroundings,  attractive,  196,  208- 
220 

Survey,  370,  371,  372,  386,  387 

Surveyor,  462 

Switzerland,  98,  225 

Taft,  President,  442,  544 

Tariff,  359 

Tax,  359,  391;  dodger,  427;  list,  427, 
428;  payer,  427,  439 

Taxation,  221,  395,  421-434,  489 

Taxes,  40,  57,  148,  395,  451,  456,  461, 
468,  470,  517 

Team  work,  i,  4,  26,  36,  40,  46,  52, 
56,  75>  86,  88,  89,  91,  93,  100,  119, 
129,  131,  192,  197,  232,  243,  244, 
375,  407,  435,  441,  442,  443,  447, 
463,  475,  5i7,_  524,  546;  in  indus- 
try, 323-344;  in  taxation,  421-434 

Telegraph,  88,  216,  254,  267 

Telephone,  19,  20,  21,  88,  216,  255, 
267;  wireless,  255 

Tenancy,  115 

Tenants,  114 

Tenement  house  departments,  117 

Tenements,  116,  118,  123,  127,  168, 
169,  171,  207,  216 

Tennessee,  69,  269 

Territories,  73 

Territory,  Northwest,  154,  155 


INDEX 


S8i 


Texas,  4,  17,  69,  no,  237,  269,  285, 

486,  487 
Textbooks,  152,  153,  154 
Theaters,  170,  171,  204,  205 
Thief,  391 
Thieves,  235 
Thrift,  202,  207,  228,  301-322,  323, 

338,  401,  409;  clubs,  36 
Tolerance,  222 
Tolls,  269 

Torrens  system,  394 
Toronto,  379 
Town,   145;  incorporated,  469,  470, 

471;  meeting,  49,   221,  436,  439, 

450-454,     458,     459,     466;     New 

England,  450-460 
Towns,  40,  211,  436,  493,  502 
Township,  68,  104,  145,  146;  govern- 
ment, 450-460 
Townships,  235,  403,  436,  460,  461, 

463,  466,  467,  468,  469,  473,  476, 

512 
Trade  areas,  67,  69;  centers,  67,  68; 

commissioners,  363 
Trading  centers,  469 
Traffic,  44,  45,  46,  164,  23s,  258,  260, 

265,  267,  275 
Transportation,  20,  30,  35,  82,  116, 

171,  180,  253,  257-281,  373,  397, 

476 
Treasurer,  state,  497;  town,  451,  460, 

462,  470 
Treasury,  Department  of  the,   191, 

301,  318,  348,  349,  352,  359,  530; 

secretary  of  the,  530,  545 
Treaties,  100,  538,  548 
Treaty,  524;  of  peace,  102 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  302 
Trial,  58,  512,  513;  fair,  415,  416 
Trustees,  township,  460 
Trusts,  361 

Tuberculosis,  168,  170,  171,  178,  184; 
'  association,  192 
Turnpikes,  269 
Typhoid,  174,  178,  184 


Unemployed,  292,  293 

Unemployment,  327,  403 

Union  label,  337 

Unions,  labor,  202;  trade,  335 

Universities,  132,  154,  407 

University  of  Virginia,   51,    153;  of 

Wisconsin,  313 
Utah, 377 
Utilities,  public,  397,  398 

Vagrancy,  291 

Vagrants,  408 

Vandalism,  238 

Vandals,  235,  238,  391 

Ventilation,  12,   138,  168,  169,  170, 

173_ 
Versailles,  102 

Veto,  484,  496,  497,  508,  524 
Vice,  117,  128,  236,  323 
Vice  President,  446,  527,  530,  539 
Vienna,  225 

Vigilance  committees,  415 
Village,  63,  211,  450,  469,  470,  493 
Virginia,  131,  189,  192,  269,  271,  466, 

487;  university  of,  51,  153 
Vocation,   208,   283,   284,   295,   297, 

298,  305,  323 

Vocational  education,  141,  142;  Fed- 
eral Board  for,  142,  156,  157 

Voters,  441 

Wage  earners,  79,  160,  303,  323,  327, 
334,  336,  337,  364,  366;  living,  128, 
303;  minimum,  202,  336 

Wages,  88,  160,  201,  202,  289,  294, 

305,  327,  329,  333,  334,  335,  338, 
408;  actual,  334;  money,  334;  scale 

of,  -336 
Wappinger  Falls,  N.  Y.,  341 
War,  the  Civil,  353,  438;  the  Great, 
I,  9,  21,  34,  36,  50,  77,  78,  79,  80, 
82,  83,  85,  86,  88,  89,  93,  95,  96, 
102,  III,  116,  131,  137,  141,  239, 
241,  254,  291,  295,  301,  432,  433; 
Revolutionary,  50,  81,  96,  368,  392; 


582 


INDEX 


of  Independence,  517;  Depart- 
ment, 191,  251,  530,  543;  powers, 
276;  secretary  of,  530 

Wards,  466,  483 

Warrant,  town,  450-452 

Washington,  D.  C,  23,  86,  88,  95, 
97,  121,  122,  144,  148,  165,  184, 
189,  211,  214,  215,  216,  217,  219, 
231,  234,  253,  261,  387,  489,  536; 
monument,  23;  state,  377 

Washington,  President,  15,  94,  95, 
102,  441,  443,  524,  529 

Wastage,  human,  402 

Wastefulness,  226,  231,  311,  375,  384, 
385,  386,  387,  407,  422,  465,  509 

Water  power,  380,  382,  384,  387,  388; 
resources,  379-382;  supply,  22, 
108,  109,  168,  174-177,  182,  183, 
191,  230-232,  469;  transportation, 
277,  279;  works,  174,455 

Wealth,  6,  282,  283,  285,  288,  289, 
290,  327,  368,  385,  443 

Weather  Bureau,  233-235 

Weights  and  measures,  348,  356-358, 
523;  inspector  of,  358 

Welfare  boards,  405;  commissioner  of 
public,  403;  department  of,  403, 
407,  408 

Wells,  174,  175 

West,  the,  20,  113,  145,  438 

West  Indies,  253 


West  Point,  156,  240 

West  Virginia,  225,  382,  488 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  488 

White  House,  the,  532 

Wichita  Falls,  Tex.,  4,  69,  no 

Wilson,  President,  9,  10,  24,  86,  91, 

442,  535 
Wires,  216,  267 
Wisconsin,  67,  68,  69,  152,  271,  481; 

University  of,  313 
Women,  occupations  of,  1 25 
Woolworth  building,  306,  307 
Work,  196,  199,  295,  302;  houses,  408, 

413 
Working  day,  200 
World,     community,     62,     93-105; 

government,  100-105;  the  old,  93; 

Peace  Foundation,  99 
Wyoming,  377 

Yellowstone,  383  , 

Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  64 

Young  America,  36 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
205 

Young  Men's  Hebrew  Association,  205 

Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 166,  205 

Yuma,  378 

Zoning  system,  122,  123,  218 


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